Dragons edged out after drop goal drama
Battling 14-man Dragons were the width of a post away from claiming a winning end to the season on home soil as Connacht edged a tense BKT United Rugby Championship clash.
Second row Matthew Screech was sent off just before the break in the league encounter at Rodney Parade but the Men of Gwent threatened a famous win in adversity.
Connacht, successful on their last two visits to Rodney Parade, cancelled out Aaron Wainwright’s opener through Cian Prendergast to leave the sides locked at the break.
An intercept from Jared Rosser gave the home crowd hope, but scores from Jarrad Butler and Caolin Blade wrestled back the lead.
In a dramatic final ten minutes the home side twice went close to scoring before Sam Davies saw two drop goal attempts – the first hitting the post – just miss the target.
Boss Dai Flanagan made five changes to his side with international trio Leon Brown, Bradley Roberts and Wainwright back in the home pack. Centre Max Clark and wing Jared Rosser were also named.
Connacht were dealt a blow before kick-off when influential ten and captain Jack Carty pulled out and was replaced by David Hawkshaw.
The visitors started on the front foot, though, with Shayne Bolton breaking tackles from deep only for his team-mates to cough up ball close the line.
Connacht did open the scoring on ten minutes as Hawkshaw slotted a penalty.
Dragons hit back in sensational fashion as Bradley Roberts broke from deep and fed a marauding Hewitt. Ball was spun wide at pace and a galloping Wainwright powered over. Reed converted.
Spilled ball in midfield allowed Angus O’Brien to pump it clear down the line, but Connacht were finding joy in behind the home defence.
More broken field allowed back row Cian Prendergast to break and reach over, with Hawkshaw converting for a 10-7 lead.
A barrelling run from deep from Moriarty won a penalty and up stepped Reed to nail a long-range kick from just inside the Connacht half.
Connacht looked a real threat when they kept the ball alive and a yellow card to Clark for slapping the ball down just before the break set them up for more pressure.
It went from bad to worse as the TMO stepped in and Screech was red carded for a high shot to leave the home side down to 13 men.
Connacht thought they had used the extra two men immediately with Number Eight Paul Boyle battling his way over. But once again the TMO stepped in to rule it was held up.
Moments later Connacht were penalised at the scrum, with the home side under mounting pressure, to ironic home cheers as Dragons battled to hold the visitors at bay to the break.
Connacht started the second half eager to make the numbers count, but instead they threw a lofted pass that Rosser read brilliantly and raced away to score from 80 metres.
Clark returned, with Dragons now able to play with 14 men, and the centre was soon chasing a hack through from Steff Hughes after spilled ball.
Moriarty rumbled back into contact and a high shot secured the penalty and Reed nudged over the three points for a 20-10 lead.
Connacht turned to the power game but knocked on as they closed in on the line as tempers flared between both sets of players.
The Irish side hit back with Butler scoring with his first touch after a home scrum was disrupted and turned over.
Harri Keddie and Elliot Dee made welcome returns before the hour mark as Dragons continued to battle away in adversity.
Connacht turned to the driving game to take the lead with a maul shunting over and Blade touching down.
Replacement Davies saw a penalty from by the touchline drift wide as the game entered the final 15 minutes.
The Rodney Parade faithful were then left incensed as O’Brien was crudely taken out in the air and wing Bolton was yellow carded.
A set piece lineout move was then agonisingly close to working as the overthrow found Keddie, but his neat offload inside to Williams was spilled just as the scrum half looked to be in the clear.
O’Brien produced a peach of a 50:22 to pin Connacht back but the full back was then just short before Hewitt was held up as he went for the line.
Late pressure saw Davies strike the post with a drop goal attempt four minutes from time before another effort late on fell short.
Timeline:
10m Hawkshaw p 0-3
12m Wainwright t Reed c 7-3
21m Prendergast t Hawkshaw c 7-10
25m Reed p 10-10
42m Rosser t Reed c 17-10
48m Reed p 20-10
51m Butler t Hawkshaw c 20-17
61m Blade t 20-22
Dragons RFC: Angus O’Brien, Jared Rosser, Steff Hughes, Max Clark Ashton Hewitt, Will Reed (Davies 62), Rhodri Williams (L. Jones 77); Rhodri Jones (Seiuli 71), Bradley Roberts (Dee 52), Leon Brown (Fairbrother 55), Matthew Screech, Ben Carter, Aaron Wainwright (Nott 58), Taine Basham (Keddie 52), Ross Moriarty
Replacements: Elliot Dee, Aki Seiuli, Lloyd Fairbrother, George Nott, Harrison Keddie, Lewis Jones, Sam Davies, Jordan Williams
Connacht: Tiernan O’Halloran, Shayne Bolton, Tom Farrell, Cathal Forde, John Porch, David Hawkshaw, Caolin Blade; Denis Buckley, Dylan Tierney-Martin, Jack Aungier, Josh Murphy, Niall Murray, Cian Prendergast, Conor Oliver, Paul Boyle
Replacements: Dave Heffernan, Peter Dooley, Sam Illo, Oisin Dowling, Jarrad Butler, Colm Reilly, Tom Daly, Shane Jennings
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR, 32nd league game)
Attendance: 5,113
