Dragons v Edinburgh Match Report

Newport Gwent Dragons have seen out their final home game of the season by taking revenge on Edinburgh Rugby with a fantastic win of 19-5.

 

The Men of Gwent battled against the wind and rain at Rodney Parade this evening but took the spoils through the boot of Jason Tovey along with a try from replacement hooker Hugh Gustafson.

The victory against the Challenge Cup finalists means that the Dragons will finish in 9^th place this season in the Guinness PRO12.

A last minute change to the front row meant that prop Boris Stankovich returned from injury to tackle the hard hitting Edinburgh side, whilst Phil Price moved onto the bench.

The Welsh Region began the game with a bang as Tovey booted a perfect touch finding kick. The Dragons attempted a driving maul from the line out but unfortunately were held up – resulting in a simple successful penalty kick from the fly-half. 

Unfortunately the 26-year-old missed his second penalty attempt with Tom Prydie stepping up to take the third long range penalty. Prydie was successful at his attempt on the halftime whistle.

Half Time: Dragons 9 – Edinburgh 0

With no tries being scored in the first half both teams came back out onto the pitch with something to prove. The Dragons first attempt at moving further into the lead was through a lovely potential drop goal, but Tovey missed the posts leaving the scores at 9-0.

Edinburgh came back with a great kick down field; but with Prydie on hand to scoop the ball up he chipped the ball over the heads of the defence into space. As a race for the ball was on just with just 10m to the Edinburgh try line, Prydie's pressure forced Edinburgh out of play.

With just half an hour left on the clock the Dragons had their driving line out stopped illegally by Edinburgh prop WP Nel resulting in a yellow card for the front rower. The Dragons continued their pressure and it paid off finally when Hugh Gustafson barged over the try line. Tovey converted the try which further extended their lead. Edinburgh attempted their own driving line out with under five minutes left on the clock and it was skipper Stuart McInally who snuck over in the corner - Hidalgo-Clyne missing his only attempt at the posts.

The Men of Gwent had the final say of the match as Jason Tovey kicked his final penalty of the game by hitting the crossbar and knocking the ball over on the final whistle.

Full Time: Dragons 19 - Edinburgh 5

Dragons Team: Tom Prydie, Ashton Hewitt, Tyler Morgan, Jack Dixon, Hallam Amos, Jason Tovey, Luc Jones; Boris Stankovich, T. Rhys Thomas ©, Brok Harris, Cory Hill, Rynard Landman, Nick Crosswell, Nic Cudd, Taulupe Faletau.

Edinburgh Team: Jack Cuthbert, Dougie Fife, Sam Beard, Andries Strauss, Tim Visser, Phil Burleigh, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne; Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford, WP Nel, Fraser McKenzie, Ben Toolis, Stuart McInally ©, Hamish Watson, Cornell Du Preez.

Referee: Gary Conway (Ireland)

Man of the Match: Nic Cudd

Attendance: 5608