Spirited Dragons edged out in Cape Town
Seb Davies and Thomas Young grabbed first tries for Dragons RFC but it was high-flying DHL Stormers who edged to a narrow 29-21 victory in the BKT United Rugby Championship at DHL Stadium in South Africa.
Davies tore over for a deserved first half score as Filo Tiatia’s men frustrated the home side for long periods, after they had blasted into an early lead courtesy of a try brace form Springbok star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
The Cape Town side looked to pull clear in the second period but were kept in check by a well-worked try from Young.
Rio Dyer grabbed a late third – and had another chalked off by the TMO - as Dragons narrowly missed out on a try bonus point.
The wait for the Men of Gwent to taste victory over the Stormers and on South African soil in the URC continues. But they can take huge heart from a battling performance against a side that have lost only once in the last eight games at DHL Stadium.
An early 50:22 from Feinberg-Mngomezulu put the home side on the front foot and forced Dragons to dig deep, with the all-action Harri Keddie winning a turnover on the floor.
It was the home side who opened the scoring after a kick from scrum half Imad Khan was claimed and taken on by JJ Kotzé before Feinberg-Mngomezulu cut a sublime line to race over and convert his own try.
The same man added a second soon after, this time the beneficiary when the ball dropped out the back of a maul and fell kindly for the playermaker to race over.
Dragons were dealt a further blow when they lost Harry Beddall to injury at the midpoint of the half, replaced by Young, after a blow to the head in the tackle.
Spilled home possession saw Jared Rosser kick ahead before more Dragons attacking play saw a penalty against Deon Fourie and Angus O’Brien kick to the corner.
Paea and Keddie carried strongly into contact off lineout ball before Davies found the gap, with defenders biting in on Douglas, and coasted over for a score. O’Brien added the extras to half the lead.
The visitors nearly scored a sublime second as Aneurin Owen and Dyer hacked into space, but Rhodri Williams was dragged down and denied a try by Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Stormers were winning the contestable kicks to the sky, but good foraging work by Ryan Woodman won a penalty at the breakdown.
The start of the second half saw Feinberg-Mngomezulu immediately extend the lead, after Fourie won a breakdown penalty.
A missed penalty by Feinberg-Mngomezulu moments later almost turned in the home favour after a knock on behind the posts.
The resulting scrum was carried by back row Evan Roos, but the ball was knocked forward as they looked to ground through Marcel Theunissen.
Pressure told, though, when a visiting scrum five metres out was blown away and Roos picked up to score from close range.
Dragons hit back again as Rosser hit a great line to rattle up close and when Coghlan was narrowly denied the ball popped for Young to roll over the line and score. O’Brien added the extras.
Dan du Plessis produced a cutting line break in midfield, but a great cover tackle from Owen hauled him down before the ball was held up over the line by scrabble away defence.
Stormers got the try bonus courtesy of a huge slice of fortune as Wandisile Simelane kicked ahead and a horror bounce evaded Dyer for the wing to score.
In response, Dyer was denied a superb solo effort as Feinberg-Mngomezulu managed to simultaneous ground the ball after the Dragon kicked into space.
But he was not to be denied eight minutes from time as a slick lineout move and inside ball from Owen sent Dyer over for a third – to cut the lead to eight points with seven minutes left.
Timeline:
09m Feinberg-Mngomezulu t Feinberg-Mngomezulu c 7-0
17m Feinberg-Mngomezulu t Feinberg-Mngomezulu c 14-0
25m Davies t O’Brien c 14-7
44m Feinberg-Mngomezulu p 17-7
50m Roos t Feinberg-Mngomezulu c 24-7
53m Young t O’Brien c 24-14
59m Simelane t 29-14
72m Dyer t O’Brien c 29-21
DHL Stormers: Damian Willemse, Seabelo Senatla, Ruhan Nel, Dan du Plessis, Leolin Zas, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Imad Khan; Vernon Matongo, JJ Kotzé, Neethling Fouché, Adré Smith, JD Schickerling, Deon Fourie, Marcel Theunissen, Evan Roos
Replacements: André-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Sazi Sandi, Ben-Jason Dixon, Paul de Villiers, Hacjivah Dayimani, Stefan Ungerer, Wandisile Simelane.
Dragons RFC: Cai Evans (Lloyd 73), Jared Rosser, Fetuli Paea (Inisi 70), Aneurin Owen, Rio Dyer, Angus O’Brien, Rhodri Williams (Armstrong 52); Jordan Morris (Jones 52), Elliot Dee (Coghlan 54), Chris Coleman (James 70), Levi Douglas (Langton-Cryer 58), Seb Davies, Ryan Woodman, Harry Beddall (Young 21), Harrison Keddie
Replacements: Brodie Coghlan, Wyn Jones, Owain James, Barny Langton-Cryer, Thomas Young, Niall Armstrong, Jac Lloyd, Fine Inisi
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 114th game
Attendance: 15,079
