Fine Inisi was the last action hero as his try in the final seconds saw Dragons RFC stage a huge comeback to earn a 15-15 draw in the BKT United Rugby Championship at Rodney Parade.
The Tongan ace dived over as time running out for his firs score for the club to a monstrous ovation from a rocking home crowd before Angus O’Brien saw his tough touchline conversion attempt drift narrowly wide.
Filo Tiatia’s men had been playing catch-up throughout the Origin Round clash but showed great character and late grit to earn a deserved draw.
With a 20-minute red card to Levi Douglas and yellow card for Inisi that saw them reduced to 13 men for a spell – plus a penalty try disallowed – it was a game where Dragons had to dig deep to claw back the result.
But they can take heart from the spirit and desire as the Men of Gwent went five undefeated at home.
The game had started well for the Italian visitors with a try in the opening minute as, following some good work by Matt Gallagher down the left hand side, Onisi Ratave was there to score his first try of the evening. The conversion was missed by Jacob Umaga.
Scrum half Che Hope, fresh off his new Dragons deal, limped off after ten minutes while Shane Lewis-Hughes was also an early injury victim.
But back came the home side with Douglas scoring his first try for the club to level the scores three minutes later. The conversion was nailed by Angus O’Brien to give Dragons the lead.
Malakai Fekitoa received a yellow card following a TMO check after a high challenge on wing David Richards.
However, Benetton once again took the lead just before the 30 minute mark, a second try from Ratave following some more good work down the left. Umaga missed the conversion.
Douglas and Inisi were both sent to the sin bin within six minutes of each other to round off the first half - the yellow for Douglas later upgraded to a 20-minute red card.
With Dragons starting the second half with 13 men, they coped well with the pressure that Benetton were exerting, but a try from Gallagher for Benetton extended their lead.
Pressure from Dragons kept on coming and was almost rewarded after a disallowed penalty try in the 56th minute.
A turnover penalty from Harry Beddall allowed O’Brien to slot the penalty and cut the lead to five points and set up a big finish.
And the late twist saw Inisi dot down to send Rodney Parade into ruptures before O’Brien saw his last kick just fail to hit the target.
Timeline:
01m Ratave t 0-5
12m Douglas t O’Brien c 7-5
29m Ratave t 7-10
50m Gallagher t 7-15
69m O’Brien p 10-15
80m Inisi t 15-15
Dragons RFC: Angus O’Brien, David Richards (Paea 53), Fine Inisi, Aneurin Owen, Rio Dyer, Tinus de Beer (Evans 40), Che Hope (Williams 10); Rodrigo Martinez (Morris 62), Brodie Coghlan (Burrows 56), Chris Coleman (James 51), Levi Douglas (Langton-Cryer 53), Seb Davies, Ryan Woodman, Harry Beddall, Shane Lewis-Hughes (Minto 5)
Replacements: Oli Burrows, Jordan Morris, Owain James, Barny Langton-Cryer, Evan Minto, Rhodri Williams, Fetuli Paea, Cai Evans
Benetton Rugby: Matt Gallagher, Onisi Ratave, Paolo Odogwu, Malakai Fekitoa, Rhyno Smith, Jacob Umaga, Andy Uren; Thomas Gallo, Bautista Bernasconi, Giosué Zilocchi, Giulio Marini, Eli Snyman, Alessandro Izekor, Jadin Kingi, Riccardo Favretto
Replacements: Nicholas Gasperini, Destiny Aminu, Tiziano Pasquali, Scott Scrafton, Cus Milano, Cristiano Tizzano, Filippo Drago, Ignacio Mendy
Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
Attendance: 7,106
