Saracens v Dragons Match Report

The Dragons failed to secure the spoils against English giants Saracens, on Saturday afternoon at Allianz Park as the European Champions beat the young Dragons 40-21

Despite the visitors having the likes of long-term injured players Harri Keddie, Zane Kirchner and Max Williams return to the starting XV, it wasn’t enough to seal the win.

The hosts opened up their account early through the boot of fly-half Max Malins, seeing them take the lead for the first 20 minutes. But captain Keddie came to the rescue after a neat break from Connor Edwards saw the skipper power over with the conversion coming from Kirchner.

This early try saw the visitors take the lead however it wasn’t long until the hosts took back the lead, with Mark Flanagan going over for the Saracens first try. The tricky conversion was missed but Mailns’ made no mistake a few minutes later, as Nick Tompkins broke away to go over for their second. 

As the clock ticked into extra time in the first half, the Dragons failed to kick the ball into touch which resulted in a turnover and the Saracens running in their third.

Half Time: Saracens 20 – Dragons 7 

The bonus point for the hosts came early on in the second half with Matt Gallagher the try scorer, and Malins’ successfully converting.

Malins stretched the lead with a three-pointer before the Dragons got their second seven-pointer through a driving lineout, hooker Liam Belcher the try scorer and Kirchner converted.

With 10 minutes left on the clock the Dragons had a lot of work to get back into the game but it was Saracens who continued to dominate as flanker Sean Reffell went over from close range to make it 35-14. That try was swiftly followed by scrum-half Tom Whiteley dotting the ball down to make it 40-14.

The Men of Gwent had the final say when tighthead Lloyd Fairbrother went over from close range which was converted by Kirchner, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the European champions from claiming the victory.

Full Time: Saracens 40 – Dragons 21

Referee: Simon Harding

Attendance: 6,432