Number Eight Taine Basham grabbed a try brace as Dragons RFC were edged out for a second successive weekend by South African opposition in the BKT United Rugby Championship at Rodney Parade.
Back row duo Harri Keddie and Basham scored first half tries as the Lions took a one-point lead to interval.
Basham grabbed his second straight after the break but in a game of narrow margins it was the Emirates Lions who took the points and left Dai Flanagan’s men to wonder what might have been.
Dragons most recent victory over a South African opponent was over the Cheetahs at Rodney Parade in February 2020 and this was a game when that unwanted record could have gone.
But in a dramatic finale it was the Lions who held firm as Dragons were edged out one more at home and had to settle for losing bonus point.
Lions showed their intent from the off as they went wide at pace and looked to test the home defence on the fringes.
Back came Dragons as Aneurin Owen sent Joe Westwood straight through a gap on halfway and he made 30 metres before feeding Rhodri Williams who was hauled down on the 22.
It was end-to-end in the opening ten minutes as Nico Steyn kicked through for Rabz Maxwane to chase down, but Angus O’Brien was there to pick up and dance out of tackles.
An entertaining opening period saw Lions strike first as a scrum penalty allowed them to play at pace and offload for full back Quan Horn to slide over. Steyn added the extras.
Dragons looked to respond with Evans popping a delayed pass to Dyer, but the ball was adjudged forward from the playmaker.
The Lions were looking to control possession but were then caught out with a pass picked off by Keddie who showed his pace from inside his own half to score.
The whole of Rodney Parade came together on the 17th minute to remember fan Ray Gleed who sadly passed away prior to last weekend’s game with Sharks.
O’Brien had to be alert after turnover ball saw Francke Horn boot into an open field and chase.
The elusive Owen again broke into space and tested the full back with Rynhardt Jonker the man to get his hand in and disrupt the attack.
A penalty and yellow card for a cynical kick at the breakdown from visiting hooker Franco Marais saw the Lions reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes.
The resulting lineout saw a huge driving maul held just short as the backs joined up before Number Eight Basham picked up and dived over for a try for the second consecutive week.
Lions continued to come straight back, and a no arms tackle allowed playmaker Steyn to cut the lead to two points.
Both teams were causing each other problems but a lack of accuracy was equally undermining passages of play as the game edged past the half hour.
Ewan Rosser released O’Brien over the line, but play was pulled back for a long-floated pass from Dyer in the build-up.
A penalty on the stroke of half-time from Steyn gave Lions a slender 13-12 lead at the break.
Dragons flew out of the traps after half-time with Dyer rolling out of contact and Rosser making yards and securing a penalty.
The home side went to the corner and secured the ball before punching holes through Shane Lewis-Hughes and Coghlan before Basham showed his footwork to finish under the posts.
Lions showed their resistance as back they came with replacement fly half Sanele Nahamba to eat into the lead with half an hour to go.
The visitors struck for a second try with back row Jarod Cairns benefiting from missed tackles going over and Nahamba converting for a 23-19 lead.
Flanagan started to unload his bench with Wilson, Blacker, Coleman and Woodman all introduced before the hour mark as the noise inside Rodney Parade grew. Cam Jones also made his debut for Martinez.
It was yet another game on a knife edge as we entered the final quarter with the Men of Gwent looking for territory to launch another attack.
A series of penalties saw replacement Reed go for the posts, but he hit the left upright and the ball bounced clear.
Dragons looked for a late spark but the Lions held them at bay to take the points.
Timeline:
11m Horn t Steyn c 0-7
15m Keddie t Evans c 7-7
25m Basham t 12-7
29m Steyn p 12-10
40m Steyn p 12-13
43m Basham t Evans c 19-13
50m Nahamba p 19-16
52m Cairns t Nahamba c 19-23
Dragons RFC: Angus O’Brien, Rio Dyer, Joe Westwood (Wilson 53), Aneurin Owen, Ewan Rosser, Lloyd Evans (Reed 60), Rhodri Williams (Blacker 56); Rodrigo Martinez (C. Jones 58), Brodie Coghlan (Burrows 62), Leon Brown (Coleman 56), Ben Carter, Matthew Screech (Woodman 56), Shane Lewis-Hughes, Harri Keddie (Lydiate 70), Taine Basham
Replacements: Oli Burrows, Cameron Jones, Chris Coleman, Ryan Woodman, Dan Lydiate, Dane Blacker, Will Reed, Harry Wilson
Emirates Lions: Quan Horn, Rabz Maxwane, Erich Cronje, Rynhardt Jonker, Edwill Van der Merwe, Nico Steyn, Morne Van den Berg; Juan Schoeman, Franco Marais, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Reinhard Nothnagel, Darrien Landsberg, JC Pretorius, Jarod Cairns, Francke Horn
Replacements: PJ Botha, Heiko Pohlmann, Conraad Van Vuuren, Ruben Schoeman, Renzo Du Plessis, Sanele Nohamba, Marius Louw, Henco Van Wyk
Referee: Filippo Russo (FIR, 2nd game)
Attendance: 4,237
