Corey Domachowski proved the unlikely match-winner after snatching a dramatic last-gasp victory at Rodney Parade.

Harrison Keddie had followed Rio Dyer over the try line as Dragons came back in the second half of a niggly derby.

But replacement prop Domachowski barged over 30 seconds from time, after two from Tomos Williams either side of Josh Adams' try, to sneak a thrilling win.

Dragons were honest and gutsy with their display but that will not soften the blow of this loss.

They had a win of genuine meaning in their hands but the knack of winning - and losing - told in the end as Cardiff were rewarded for being bold and clinical.

Evans kicked a penalty half the length of the field to set up an attacking lineout five metres out from which the big prop drove over.

Under Gatland's gaze

Scrum-half Williams was outstanding, as was back rwo Taulupe Faletau, as Cardiff climbed to fifth in the United Rugby Championship.

And they will enjoy these local bragging rights in front of new Wales coach Warren Gatland, returning to the role.

Wales hopefuls Evans, Thomas Young, Rhys Carre and Dragons wing Ashton Hewitt will all have given Gatland food for thought.

However, back Adams will be a worry after limping off injured and Dragons lock Will Rowlands confirmed before kick-off he will miss the Six Nations.

Flanker Young gave another intelligent display, Carre scrummaged and carried well to set up a try, while Evans replaced Rhys Priestland at 10 to set up three more tries.

Cardiff's finishing was the difference as they led 14-11 at half-time against the run of play with two tries in three minutes.

Dragons dominated the opening exchanges but failed to capitalise.

Wing Hewitt was full of running, twice beating Owen Lane on the left touchline as well as Adams, who was switched from wing to full-back with Liam Williams still a week from a return.

A feisty clash started with Bradley Roberts, in his first Boxing Day derby, shown a yellow card for a petulant trip off the ball.

Dragons still managed to take a six-point lead through the boot of Hanrahan.

Ross Moriarty had a point to prove after missing the autumn Test series and was in the thick of the action both on and off the ball.

However, his opposite number and Wales rival Faletau was another class.

The number eight popped up seemingly everywhere as Cardiff finally got their attack going after 33 minutes.

Prop Carre, another looking to rekindle his Test ambitions, was also twice involved, handing Williams the scoring pass with a well-timed off-load.

Priestland limped off with an ankle injury but replacement Evans immediately kicked the conversion and was soon adding another after setting up a second try within a minute.

His deft inside pass to Lane opened space outside for Adams to touch down for a 14-6 lead.

Dragons were reeling but hit back before half-time. Moriarty carried and Steff Hughes' lofted pass that was finished by Dyer out wide.

Cardiff responded on 51 minutes, Evans' quick catch-and-pass opened space for Adams whose delightful no-look left-foot kick put Williams in for a second.

Adams went off with a knee injury minutes later and Dragons slowly wrestled back momentum.

Hewitt's kick-chase won a penalty and a well-worked Dragons lineout caught Cardiff napping and captain Keddie finished the drive.

Hanrahan converted and added a 71st-minute penalty for a 22-21 lead only for Evans to set up Cardiff's late, late winner.

Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan:

"It's a lot about belief with our team. We have some really good players and a lot of tough guys but they just need to believe more that they are that good.

"We dominated about 60 to 70 per cent of that game but there were a few areas we should have controlled better and 14 points before half-time killed us. It left us with so much to do.

"This obviously hurts and we need to start winning these games and I'm convinced that we will if we start believing how good we can be."

Cardiff head coach Dai Young:

"It was a tough, physical game and this is a tough place to play so we are thrilled to go home from a real ding-dong Welsh derby with five points.

"It came down to perseverance right at the end. It looked a bit of a mountain but we got a great turnover, a fantastic kick from Jarrod and then we managed to get over.

"There were a lot of big performances from some of our top players and that's what you expect from them. They can do things that change games."

Dragons: Angus O'Brien; Rio Dyer, Steff Hughes, Jack Dixon, Ashton Hewitt; JJ Hanrahan, Rhodri Williams; Rhodri Jones, Bradley Roberts, Chris Coleman, Joe Davies, George Nott, Aaron Wainwright, Harri Keddie (capt), Ross Moriarty.

Replacements: Brodie Coghlan, Aki Seiuli, Lloyd Fairbrother, Matthew Screech, Sean Lonsdale, Lewis Jones, Sam Davies, Sio Tomkinson.

Cardiff: Josh Adams; Owen Lane, Rey Lee-Lo, Ben Thomas, Theo Cabango; Rhys Priestland, Tomos Williams; Rhys Carre, Liam Belcher, Dmitri Arhip, Lopeti Timani, Rory Thornton, Josh Turnbull (capt), Thomas Young, Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Corey Domachowski, Will Davies-King, Seb Davies, Ellis Jenkins, Lloyd Williams, Jarrod Evans, Mason Grady.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Assistant referees: Mike English (WRU), Aled Evans (WRU)

TMO: Sean Brickell (WRU)

Newcastle United's Joelinton won a penalty and netted a first-half header in a 3-0 thrashing of Leicester City that took his side up to second in the Premier League table on Monday.

Leicester defender Daniel Amartey got the match off to a terrible start for the hosts, gifting Newcastle a penalty when he chopped down Joelinton after 86 seconds, and striker Chris Wood blasted the spot-kick into the middle of the net.

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It was a welcome goal for the 31-year-old New Zealand international, who played for Leicester from 2013-15 and was only in the team due to Callum Wilson being ruled out through illness.

Newcastle's great start continued when Miguel Almiron added a brilliant second in the seventh minute, cutting in from the right before playing a one-two with Bruno Guimaraes and slotting the return pass in at the far post.

Despite the return of league football following the World Cup break, there was little Christmas cheer for the home fans as Joelinton made it 3-0 in the 32nd minute when Boubakary Soumare was caught ball-watching at a corner and the Brazilian headed home.

In one of the first half's few bright attacking moments for the home side, Leicester's Zambian striker Patson Daka had a shout for a penalty turned down after a clash with keeper Nick Pope, but all too often the striker's decision-making let him down.

The introduction of Jamie Vardy at the break gave Leicester's attack a focal point that was sorely lacking in the first half, but Newcastle's well-organised defence restricted them to shots from distance that were easily dealt with.

Newcastle climbed above Manchester City, who play Leeds United on Wednesday, into second place on 33 points, four behind leaders Arsenal, who take on West Ham United later on Monday. Leicester are 13th on 17 points.

"Coming here, knowing how difficult it was going to be, the start was really important to us. The first half an hour we were excellent. It's a trademark goal for Miggy [Almiron] and a really good team move," Newcastle manager Eddie Howe told the BBC.

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers was far from impressed with his side.

"The start of the game was clearly disappointing, we were so slow, our attitude was really poor, before we know it we're 2-0 down," he told Amazon Prime. "We lacked many things today, they were way better than us from the start of the game."

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The New York Jets, whose slim playoff hopes received a boost over the weekend, will have quarterback Mike White back in the lineup for Sunday's pivotal road game against the Seattle Seahawks.

White, who fractured at least two ribs in a Dec. 11 hit by Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano, was cleared for contact Monday by doctors, a league source confirmed.

White missed the past two games -- both losses -- because doctors cleared him to only practice, not play.

The New York Post first reported that White has been cleared to return.

This is another setback for former starter Zach Wilson, whose future with the team appears bleak. The 2021 No. 2 pick was benched for three games, but he got another shot when White was injured.

Wilson failed to capitalize and was replaced last Thursday night by fourth-string quarterback Chris Streveler. Booed throughout the game, Wilson completed only nine of 18 passes for 92 yards in the 19-3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. On Friday, coach Robert Saleh refused to commit to Wilson as his starter in Seattle even if White wasn't cleared.

White is 1-2 as the starter, with 952 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Jets (7-8), losers of four straight, have an 11% chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN Analytics. Saleh himself conceded their chances were "far-fetched," but they got help from the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins, both of whom lost this weekend.

If the Jets win out and the Patriots lose one of their remaining two games, the Jets will make the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett on Monday.

The move comes after a 4-11 start and Sunday's 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Hackett's dismissal puts an abrupt end to the shortest tenure of any noninterim head coach in franchise history. The Broncos' new ownership -- the Walton-Penner Group, led by Walmart heir Rob Walton, his daughter Carrie Walton Penner and son-in-law Greg Penner -- quickly ran out of patience for a team with one of the league's best defenses with an offense that simply could not score.

"Following extensive conversations with [general manager] George [Paton] and our ownership group, we determined a new direction would ultimately be in the best interest of the Broncos," Greg Penner said in a statement. "This change was made now out of respect for everyone involved and allows us to immediately begin the search for a new head coach.

"Moving forward, we will carefully evaluate every aspect of our football operations and make whatever changes are necessary to restore this franchise's winning tradition," Penner said, adding that Paton will assist in the coaching search. No interim coach has been named.

The team has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday at noon ET.

At one point this season, the Broncos featured the No. 1 scoring defense and the No. 32 scoring offense. The Broncos also missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year, the longest playoff drought since the franchise's earliest years when it missed the playoffs between 1960 and 1976.

It's a far cry from Hall of Famer Pat Bowlen's three-decade run as owner, when the Broncos went to more Super Bowls (seven) than they had losing seasons. This season is also the fifth time the Broncos have averaged fewer than 20 points per game over the past seven years. Until Hackett's firing, Wade Phillips had the shortest tenure as the team's noninterim head coach in the post-AFL-NFL merger era -- two seasons (1993-1994) -- before he was fired by Bowlen and Mike Shanahan was hired.

Hackett, 42, was hired in January as the franchise's 18th head coach after serving three seasons as the Green Bay Packers' offensive coordinator under Matt LaFleur. At the time, Paton called Hackett a "dynamic leader and coach whose intelligence, innovation and charisma impressed us from the very start of the process.''

Then-Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell and Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn were also finalists for the role. O'Connell was later hired by the Minnesota Vikings, whose resurgent offense has led them to a 12-3 start. Shortly after Hackett's hire, the Broncos traded five draft picks, including two first-rounders and two second-rounders, as well as three players to the Seattle Seahawks to acquire quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson was signed to a five-year, $245 million contract extension just before the start of the season.

But the excitement of the Broncos' offseason quickly fizzled out as Hackett's in-game decision-making was questioned right from the start of the season.

In Week 1, his call to have kicker Brandon McManus attempt a 64-yard field goal instead of having Wilson attempt to convert a fourth-and-5 in the closing minute of a 17-16 loss to Seattle proved controversial.

"Looking back at it, definitely should have gone for it," Hackett said the day after the loss. "One of those things, you look back at it and say, 'Of course we should go for it; we missed the field goal.' But in that situation we had a plan, we knew 46 was the mark."

Game management issues continued in the weeks that followed -- fans even counted down the play clock during some home games -- and former Baltimore Ravens assistant coach Jerry Rosburg was hired in September to aid in-game management decisions. The disconnect between Hackett, Wilson and the offense persisted, however. Hackett routinely stressed he wanted "to build this thing around [Wilson]'' and do what Wilson was "comfortable with'' in the offense even as Wilson repeatedly said he was comfortable "doing a lot of things.''

At 15.5 points per game, the Broncos are at their lowest point total at this point in a season since 1966.

Injuries to front-line players such as left tackle Garett Bolles, running back Javonte Williams, wide receiver Tim Patrick and outside linebacker Randy Gregory certainly didn't help matters. But as the season wore on, there was far less conversation in the public domain about Hackett's willingness to think outside the box in his teaching methods and more about why the Broncos' offense was so historically bad. Five of the Broncos' first six losses and eight total have been one-score games.

That was not the case Sunday, as the Denver defense saw the Rams score on eight of their nine possessions. Additionally, backup quarterback Brett Rypien and guard Dalton Risner exchanged words on the sideline after a sequence in the third quarter when Wilson was sacked on back-to-back plays.

Gregory was pulled from the game twice by Hackett, once in the first half when he was flagged after he threw his helmet after a Rams touchdown, and later when he was flagged for a late hit on Los Angeles quarterback Baker Mayfield. "After that second one, we took him out -- that's unacceptable," Hackett said.

As the teams crowded the middle of the field on their way to their locker rooms after the game, Gregory and Rams guard Oday Aboushi exchanged words -- with helmets on -- and Gregory punched Aboushi in the helmet. Aboushi responded with a punch of his own before they were separated.

With the wealthiest ownership group in the NFL as well as a fan base passionate enough, even now, to have given the Broncos a home sellout streak that dates back to 1970, the Broncos' head-coaching role will be an attractive job.

The Philadelphia Eagles are hopeful that four-time Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson will return for the postseason, but he has a torn tendon in the abdominal area and is not expected to play again this regular season, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Johnson underwent an MRI, which confirmed the nature of the injury, which he suffered late in the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Jack Driscoll replaced Johnson at right tackle for the remainder of Saturday's game.

The Eagles also are dealing with an injury to starting quarterback and MVP candidate Jalen Hurts, who missed Saturday's game with a sprained shoulder.

Johnson, 32, was selected to his fourth Pro Bowl this year and had started all 15 games for the Eagles this season. His status also is uncertain to play against the New Orleans Saints in Week 17, league sources have told Schefter.

The Eagles boast the NFL's best record at 13-2 and would clinch the NFC East, the conference's top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with another victory.

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has told clubs they can play matches with 12 players in a bid to fulfil fixtures for the rest of the season.

Now the WRU has written to the clubs informing them they can play with 12 players as long as both sides agree.

The governing body say they want "all clubs to continue beyond this season".

Reduced numbers games are common at mini and junior levels in Wales and the WRU's move replicates initiatives attempted in some other rugby countries, including England.

The WRU had claimed this year they have the most players registered since digital records began, but that has not stopped a significant number of games being called off.

The WRU Competitions Committee (CMC) and Community Game Board (CGB) met to "discuss the matter of the number of outstanding fixtures that are due to be rearranged and played before the end of the season".

They decided on two steps to ensure all clubs are given the opportunity to complete their fixture programmes.

The first was the reduced numbers for fixtures which outlined that teams can begin a league game with teams as few as 12 players per side as long as both teams agree.

Teams were "strongly encouraged to adopt this approach as it ensures the fixture begins in a fair and equitable manner".

Numbers to be agreed beforehand could be 12, 13 or 14 with uncontested scrums.

If one team had 20 players in their squad, all eight replacements could be used.

Reduced-numbers games will not need to be abandoned should a team lose a player, unless there is a difference of four players between the clubs.

The second step covered the awarding and claiming of league points from "the high number of unfulfilled fixtures due to teams being unable to raise a side on scheduled weekends".

The committee decided that from Saturday, 7 January that teams can be awarded or have to forfeit points retrospectively.

The WRU says this decision has been taken to ensure all leagues are completed at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season to ensure the 2023-24 season structure can be implemented and that all clubs are in a position to continue beyond this season.

"I won this golf tournament without a putter," Jordan Spieth said after capturing the 2022 RBC Heritage, where he ranked 60th in strokes gained: putting. 

While it's certainly possible to win while struggling with the flatstick, it's unlikely, as Spieth's 2.5 strokes lost on the greens that week was the fifth-most by a victorious player since 2004. Usually, if one can work some magic with their putter, their odds of winning drastically increases. 

There were many memorable putts this year in professional golf that led to victories. Here are some of them — we'll crown them, the putts of the year in the men's game. 

Scottie Scheffler, WM Phoenix Open

Once upon a time, before he was a four-time PGA Tour winner, a Masters champion and a world No. 1, Scheffler was winless. 

In pursuit of his maiden victory, he found himself in a playoff with Patrick Cantlay on Super Bowl Sunday at TPC Scottsdale. On the third bonus hole, Scheffler sank an uphill, 25-foot birdie putt to secure his first win. 

Scheffler, of course, then went on one of golf's most torrid stretches ever. But it all started with that playoff putt. 

Harold Varner III, Saudi International

Bubba Watson and Varner seemed destined for a playoff after Watson's birdie-eagle finish. Then Varner said, hold my beer. 

After a birdie on No. 17, Varner's second shot into the par-5 18th landed 92 feet from the hole – according to Varner's caddie, Chris Rice. Varner then miraculously holed his putt from off the green for a walk-off eagle to avoid a playoff and notch his second professional win and first since 2016. 

Sam Burns, Valspar Championship and Charles Schwab Challenge playoffs 

No Tour player, except Burns, can say they holed tournament-winning putts — emphasis on the plural — in a playoff this year. 

The first came in his first-ever Tour title defense. In a playoff against Davis Riley at Innisbrook, Burns sank a 32-foot birdie for the win. 

A few months later, Burns topped that. In a playoff at Colonial against one of his best friends, Scheffler, Burns completed a seven-shot comeback by canning a 38-footer for his fourth Tour victory.

Thorbjorn Olesen, Betfred British Masters

After years of being engulfed in controversy, the 2018 Ryder Cupper thrillingly got back into the winner's circle. 

At the Belfry, Olesen, who was arrested in 2019 and later suspended by the DP World Tour, sank a 30-foot eagle putt on No. 17 to tie the clubhouse lead. He followed that by hooping a 36-footer for birdie to win by one — his first victory in four years. 

Billy Horschel, The Memorial 

Jack Nicklaus eagled No. 15 at Augusta en route to improbably winning the 1986 Masters. At Jack’s Place, Horschel took a page from the Golden Bear’s book, rolling in a 55-foot eagle putt on Muirfield Village's par-5 15th, igniting a disbelieving celebration, to pull away from the field and win. 

Justin Thomas, PGA Championship

To become a major champion, one usually needs a little wizardry with the flatstick. 

In the final round at Southern Hills, Thomas was six shots behind leader Mito Pereira on the par-3 11th. However, the 29-year-old made a long birdie putt off the top of the green, sparking a historic seven-shot comeback to notch his second major. 

Matt Fitzpatrick, U.S. Open

Just like JT a few weeks earlier, a long birdie putt helped mold Fitzpatrick into a major champion. 

On The Country Club's par-4 13th, the Englishman was one stroke behind leader Will Zalatoris in the final round. When his approach landed 48 feet from the cup, Fitzpatrick was likely hoping to two-putt and stay in the hunt. However, he holed his birdie attempt from downtown to get into a share of the lead. 

It was the first highlight of a marvelous back nine that made the 28-year-old the second Englishman to win a U.S. Open since 1970. 

Haotong Li, BMW International Open

In late 2021, Li was considering retirement after making only two European Tour cuts all year. 

However, in June, the China native held the lead after each of the first three rounds of the BMW International Open. Yet, he found himself in a playoff with Thomas Pieters after 72 holes. 

On the first bonus hole, Li holed a 40-foot birdie putt to claim his first win in four years. 

And what followed was arguably the celebration of the year. 

Cam Smith, The 150th Open Championship

Almost every major winner has a signature moment en route to their monumental victory. 

And though Smith put on a putting clinic during his Open win, his defining moment was a putt he didn't make. 

With a one-shot lead on the par-4 17th in the final round at St. Andrews, the Road Hole bunker stood in the Aussie's way.  Twenty-one yards from the hole, Smith opted for the roundabout and putted the ball to 10 feet. He'd end up making par. 

"I think it's just another example of why he's one of the very best," Cam Young, Smith's final-round playing competitor, said. "He made a really good decision and executed it perfectly."

Rory McIlroy, Tour Championship

Off the course in 2022, McIlroy was the Tour's chief defender against LIV Golf. On the course, though, he claimed the Tour's season-long FedExCup title. 

Sunday at East Lake, McIlroy flared a little magic en route to notching that achievement. He started the final round six shots back of Scheffler, but caught the then-world No. 1 by the back nine. 

The Northern Irishman bogeyed No. 14, but canned a 31-foot birdie putt on the following hole to tie the lead. McIlroy wouldn't drop on the leaderboard again, capping a crazy season by winning his third FedExCup. 

Tom Kim, Presidents Cup

Kim grew up idolizing Tiger Woods. And on a stage in which the Big Cat had dazzled many times before, the 20-year-old Kim got to mimic his hero. 

During Saturday's fourball session at Quail Hollow, Kim, paired with Si Woo Kim, drained a 10-foot birdie on No. 18 to clinch a victory over U.S. powerhouse duo Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, walking off the putt before it dropped and throwing his hat to the ground in a Tiger-esque celebration.

The South Korean's heroics also kept the underdog International team within reach of Team USA's lead. Prior to making that putt, Kim felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

"I was just looking down and thinking to myself that 'Man, I want this putt to go in more than anything in the world,'" he said two weeks later, "because I'm just not playing for myself, I'm playing for everyone on [the International] team."

Harry Kane shook off any World Cup hangover to spark a Tottenham Hotspur revival in an entertaining 2-2 draw away at Brentford as the Premier League roared back to life on Monday.

An early goal by Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney's close-range goal shortly after the interval put Brentford 2-0 up as Tottenham struggled to deal with their hosts.

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But Antonio Conte's side have made a habit of playing their best football when trailing and so it proved again.

Kane, whose missed penalty just over a fortnight ago condemned England to a quarterfinal defeat by France, headed home in the 65th minute to throw his side a lifeline.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, one of five Tottenham starters who featured at the World Cup, then levelled with a calm finish and Kane almost won it with a header against the crossbar.

Tottenham are in fourth place with 30 points while Brentford are ninth ahead of the rest of the day's fixtures.

Brazil legend Pele's family members gathered at the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo on Saturday, where the 82-year-old, widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, has been since late November.

Doctors said this week that Pele's cancer had advanced and that he requires care related to renal and cardiac dysfunction. His family said he would remain in the Sao Paulo hospital over the festive period.

Pele has received regular medical treatment since a tumour was removed from his colon in September last year.

"Almost all of them. Merry Christmas. Gratitude, love, togetherness, family," his daughter Kely Nascimento wrote on Instagram with a picture of their family in the hospital.

"The essence of Christmas. We thank you all for all the love and light you send."

Pele's son Edinho, who played in goal for Santos in the 1990s, posted a picture of himself holding his father's hand to Instagram on Saturday, with the caption, "Father... my strength is yours."

The hospital has not mentioned any signs of Pele's recent respiratory infection, which was aggravated by COVID-19.

Newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported last weekend that Pele's chemotherapy was not working and that doctors had decided to put him on palliative care. Pele's family denied that report.

Information from Associated Press was included in this report.