Dragons came up just short in an agonising fashion as a pulsating BKT United Rugby Championship encounter with Hollywoodbets Sharks ended 17-17 at a rain drenched Rodney Parade.
First half tries from Aaron Wainwright and Angus O’Brien saw the Men of Gwent go toe-to-toe with a huge South African side in dreadful conditions before a heart-breaking finale.
After repelling yet another powerful visiting driving maul, Filo Tiatia’s men launched one last breathless attack and battered the Sharks try line.
But there was to be no fairytale end for the 14 men to the backdrop of a deafening home crowd as Sharks held out and the points were shared.
It leaves Dragons still hunting a first league win of this season but with plenty of positives to build on as they showed spirit, character and togetherness in a game when they often fell the wrong side of calls.
In swirling winds and lashing rain, both teams looked for territory early on and looked to kick the ball into space and turn the opposition.
Newcomer Fine Inisi rolled out of tackles to make hard yards, but a charged down kick put Sharks just a few metres out.
The home side defended their line with real intent as Rob Hunt and Brodie Coghlan unloaded huge tackles before the South Africans went wide and were shunted into the tramlines.
Sharks turned to the driving maul and punched metres before they went over from close range through Marvin Orie. Jean Smith added the extras after eight minutes.
Dragons hit back with Fetuli Paea bursting through before the ball from Tinus de Beer hit a wonderful line from Wainwright and he glided over. De Beer added the extras to level the scores.
Two quickfire penalties secured the visitors three points from the restart as Smith added his second kick of the night.
Edwill Van der Merwe looked to run from deep but was charged down and then the ball was spilled in midfield as Dragons continued to tackle relentlessly.
A superb break and hand-off from Paea set up try umber two as the Tonga midfielder burst past men to a thundering ovation and fed O’Brien for a score. De Beer added the extras for the lead.
A needless offside gave Sharks another way in and as the rain got harder before another penalty saw the visitors kick to the corner and eventually punch it over with Vincent Tshituka scoring.
Dragons saw another kick off go long to hand Sharks a scrum on halfway and the resulting penalty gave them another attack.
But the home side held on as Sharks led 17-14 at the interval. Strong work at the breakdown after the restart from Owen set up a home attack as O’Brien kicked deep.
The forwards worked hard up to the line before a long pass from Williams saw Dyer dive over.
However, Referee Russo went to the TMO to check and ruled the score out for an infringement at the previous breakdown.
The impressive Paea was then forced off and replaced by Ackerman before the hour mark while Harri Keddie and Levi Douglas were added soon afterwards.
In a game of fine margins, the home side were repeatedly falling foul of the officials at the set piece as Sharks worked scrum penalties and with it field position.
It needed solid defence on the line to another powerful driving maul to halt the Sharks in the final quarter as the visitors sensed the chance to break home resolve.
A loose kick from van der Merwe saw Inisi intelligently pop de Beer into space and rattle up the field. A penalty on the floor saw de Beer point to the sticks and level the scores with 15 minutes to go.
Another penalty at the lineout saw O’Brien kick deep, but the ball was spilled just as the volume started to crank up inside Rodney.
Referee Russo yellow carded Chris Coleman with eight minutes to go after a series of scrum penalties.
Huge drama saw Sharks make a mess of an attack and then Dragons came once more in a deafening end as the punched holes to no avail before a knock on just yards from the visiting line ended a dramatic game.
Timeline:
08m Orie t Smith c 0-7
16m Wainwright t De Beer c 7-7
19m Smith p 7-10
27m O‘Brien t De Beer c 14-10
38m V. Tshituka t Smith c 14-17
65m De Beer p 17-17
Dragons RFC: Angus O’Brien, Rio Dyer, Fetuli Paea (Ackerman 51), Aneurin Owen, Fine Inisi (Hunt 75), Tinus de Beer, Rhodri Williams; Wyn Jones (Martinez 50 (Jones 56)), Brodie Coghlan (Burrows 63), Rob Hunt (Coleman 50), Matthew Screech (Douglas 56), Ben Carter, Ryan Woodman, Shane Lewis-Hughes (Keddie 56), Aaron Wainwright
Replacements: Oli Burrows, Rodrigo Martinez, Chris Coleman, Levi Douglas, Harri Keddie, Che Hope, Harri Ackerman, Huw Anderson
Sharks: Edwill Van der Merwe; PK Sobahle, Jurenzo Julius, Lukhanyo Am, Christie Grobbelaar; Jean Smith, Jaden Hendrikse; Simphiwe Matanzima, Fez Mbatha, Ruan Dreyer, Deon Slabbert, Marvin Orie, Phepsi Buthelezi, Emmanuel Tshituka, Vincent Tshituka
Replacements: Eduan Swart, Cameron Dawson, Cebo Dlamini, Bathobele Hlekani, Nick Hatton, Ross Braude, Francois Venter, Hakeem Kunene.
Referee: Filippo Russo (FIR, 6th game)
Attendance: 4,889
