Charlie Davies, match-winner against Gloucester in the quarter-finals, had warned his teammates before they took to the field against a fearsome Montpellier side that if they fell behind there would be no going back.
And so it transpired; Jake White's side led 12-0 at half-time after Demetri Catrakilis knocked over three penalties, Benoit Paillaugue one and Carl Meyer missed one of his own for good measure.
A converted try from Springbok superstar Bismarck du Plessis and Pailaugue's fourth penalty ended the contest, but at this point Dragons fans may have feared a rout.
How easy it would have been for Kingsley Jones' side to wilt under the belligerent pressure of a side containing three World Cup winners and a captain, Fulgence Ouedraogo, who was present when France pushed New Zealand all the way in 2011.
Instead their tight-knit team stuck together, fought back and did the Guinness PRO12 proud.
The Dragons were outgunned in attack, forced into making 111 tackles to Montpellier's 60, but Jones' side embodied the never-say-die attitude which has become so potent a feature of Welsh rugby - fighting back to out-score Montpellier two tries to one at the Altrad Stadium.
The result means stand-in captain Lewis Evans and his men can walk with heads held high and full of hope into a Judgement Day clash at Principality Stadium, where they will hope to shatter Scarlets' Guinness PRO12 playoff dreams.
"We've been talking about learning harsh lessons for quite some time but I think it will come eventually, we just need to tighten up that set-piece and kick our points," he said.
"It's something we've got to learn from again, but as far as reflecting on this season, there are definitely a lot of positive things for us to take and it just shows what we're capable of doing when we play.
"If we'd had a better first half and gone in with a few more points at half-time it would have been a different game.
"They would have played differently and the pressure would've been on them if our line speed and defence could have stayed as good as it was.
"And without conceding the penalties, they would have forced something, and you never know what could happen."
The Dragons have not won a Guinness PRO12 game in eight, but showed they can hang with the best - Montpellier sit two places above the Dan Carter-inspired Champions Cup finalists Racing 92 in the Top 14.
They will be seriously buoyed ahead of their massive derby on Saturday, where they face a serious shot at redemption in front of a record-breaking 60,000 screaming fans on Judgement Day.
Scarlets fought back through superb tries from Hallam Amos and Carl Meyer, while Tyler Morgan was exceptional in the three-quarters.
Warren Gatland too will no doubt have been pleased to see Taulupe Faletau prominent in the build up to Amos' try as he plots to take down his country of birth for Wales in June.
And Evans too acknowledged that the experience would bode well for Dragons exciting young players.
He said: "For Hallam (Amos) and Tyler (Morgan), going to Montpellier away for a semi-final, they are only going to benefit from that in the long-term as well.
"We came up against a superstar XV bursting with South African and French internationals and I thought for a fair bit of the game we certainly had parity, if not on top.
"I'm really proud of the boys, they fought right to the death, and one day we are really going to start turning some heads."
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