Dragons came up just short in an agonising fashion as a pulsating BKT United Rugby Championship encounter with Hollywoodbets Sharks played in horrendous conditions ended 17-17 at Rodney Parade.
First half tries from Aaron Wainwright and Angus O’Brien saw the Men of Gwent go toe-to-toe with the South Africans in heavy rain and high winds before an action-packed finale.
After repelling yet another powerful driving maul, Filo Tiatia’s men launched one last breathless attack – despite being down to 14 men - and battered the Sharks try line late on.
But there was to be no fairytale end in the dying seconds to the backdrop of a deafening home roar as Sharks held out and the points were shared.
It was a result that leaves Dragons still hunting a first league win of this season but with plenty of positives to build.
The team showed spirit, character and togetherness in a game when they often fell the wrong side of calls and had to dig deep when injuries struck.
In swirling winds and lashing rain under the Newport lights, both teams looked for territory early on and looked to kick into space and turn the opposition.
Newcomer Fine Inisi rolled out of two early tackles to make hard yards, but a charged down kick in midfield 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 duly turned to their powerful driving maul and punched hard metres in before they went over from close range through lock Marvin Orie. Jean Smith added the extras after eight minutes.
Dragons hit back in some style with a stunning try as Tongan ace Fetuli Paea – on debut – initially burst through before the ball from Tinus de Beer hit Wainwright on a wonderful line and the back row did the rest. De Beer added the extras to level the scores as a healthy Rodney crowd celebrated a high tempo start.
Two quickfire penalties secured the visitors three points from the restart as Smith confidently added his second kick of the night.
A superb break and hand-off from the all-action Paea set up try number two as the Tongan burst past through a gap and handed off a wing before feeding O’Brien to slide over. De Beer added the extras for the lead.
A needless offside penalty, though, gave Sharks another way in and as the rain got harder the visitors kicked to the corner and eventually got over with Vincent Tshituka scoring for a 17-14 lead at the interval.
Strong work at the breakdown after the restart from Aneurin 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 gather and dot down. However, celebrations were soon cut short as Referee Russo went to the TMO to check and eventually ruled the score out for an infringement at the previous breakdown.
The impressive Paea was then forced off through injury and replaced by Harri Ackerman before the hour mark saw Harri Keddie and Levi Douglas add some more firepower.
In a game of fine margins, the home side were falling foul of the officials at the set piece as Sharks worked penalties and with it field position.
It needed solid defence on their own line to repel another powerful driving maul 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 gave de Beer the chance to level the scores with 15 minutes to go.
Referee Russo yellow carded Chris Coleman with eight minutes to go after the number of scrum penalties escalated.
Huge drama then saw Sharks make a mess of an attack before 14-man Dragons came once more.
In a deafening final few minutes the home side crunched into contact and worked to within a metre of the line, only for spilled ball to halt growing momentum and end 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
