THE Dragons endured another pointless away game in the United Rugby Championship but their 34-6 defeat at Leinster had a very different feel.
The Rodney Parade club failed to win away from home in any competition in 2023/24 and, as expected, they failed to end that streak at the Aviva Stadium.
However, six-try Leinster had to wait until the 65th minute to get their bonus point as the Dragons did a good job of frustrating and scrapping despite a six-day turnaround from their win against the Ospreys.
It was just 10-6 to Leinster at the break and it took a controversial try, when it seemed fly-half Lloyd Evans had come up with a big defensive play, to build up a comfortable lead.
Further tries followed (one after another eyebrow-raising TMO intervention) as Dragons legs tired, giving the scoreboard a look that doesn’t reflect their effort.
In recent years it has been a case of the opposition clocking off after the break thanks to doing the job in the first half but Leinster weren’t afforded that luxury.
CLAIMED: Ryan Woodman wins lineout ball for the Dragons (Image: Brendan Moran/Huw Evans Agency)
Dai Flanagan’s men may not have caused a mammoth upset against the Irish heavyweights but they did ensure that there is encouragement for three home games on the spin against the Sharks, Lions and Benetton.
The challenge was to show the same fight and resilience in Dublin as they had in Newport when burgling the derby spoils.
They certainly did that to frustrate their hosts, who are used to steamrolling the Dragons on home soil.
The Rodney Parade club have won just once in the Irish capital, when they upset the odds at the Royal Dublin Society in 2015.
With the RDS being redeveloped, Flanagan’s men were the first team to be hosted in the grand surroundings of the Aviva Stadium.
The Dragons had played there before when it wasn’t quite as classy in the Lansdowne Road days.
The visitors suffered a blow in the warm-up when influential full-back Angus O’Brien pulled out of the XV with Ewan Rosser wearing 15 and Aneurin Owen coming onto the bench.
The rejigged back line produced a peach of a strike play in the third minute to put Harry Wilson racing into the 22 but the hosts scrambled.
It then took a last-ditch tackle to stop Ewan Rosser as he scorched away in an impressive Dragons start that just lacked a killer touch.
That was followed by a second injury blow of the evening with lock George Nott forced off; while Wales international Matthew Screech was a strong replacement it did take away from their bench impact for later on.
Another chance to get on the board went begging when Lloyd Evans, perhaps rushed by the shot clock, shanked a routine penalty in the tenth minute.
The Dragons had started well but put themselves under pressure in the 16th minute when tighthead Chris Coleman hit opposite number Thomas Clarkson with a head-on-head collision.
The prop faced a nervous wait while referee Mike Adamson watched the footage and it was a yellow rather than red card because lock Ben Carter had tackled the Leinster man into his upright teammate.
The hosts kicked to the 22 and promptly struck, albeit it wasn’t the slickest move that ended with a mismatch down the left for Jack Conan to go over when faced by wing Rio Dyer.
The Dragons had a spell of indiscipline but got away with the sin bin with a score of -2 after Evans made no mistake from the tee to reward fine breakdown work by hooker Brodie Coghlan.
The crowd headed to the ground expecting a one-sided affair but the hosts were frustrated.
However, Leinster went over for their second just before the break when a penalty was kicked to the corner and then, playing with advantage, fly-half Ross Byrne reached over.
Yet the Dragons had the final say of the half when Coleman made up for his indiscretions to get over the ball to win a penalty that Evans knocked over for 10-6.
CARRY: Harry Wilson on the run for the Dragons (Image: Shauna Clinton/Huw Evans Agency)
Leinster, after one big defensive set, put the squeeze on in the opening moments of the half and it paid off… in controversial fashion.
Flanker Max Deegan crashed over but TMO footage Evans looked to have got his hand under the ball, only for it to be deemed there was insufficient evidence to turn over the on-field decision of try.
Byrne converted to make it 17-6 and that’s how it stayed going into the final quarter, as the expected Leinster scores failed to come.
However, a slick lineout move earned the bonus in the 65th minute when big Joe McCarthy crashed over and then wing Jordan Larmour went over down the right, given the benefit of the doubt when it came to TMO footage that seemed to show Jared Rosser’s arm underneath the ball.
A sixth came with the clock in the red when the ball was flung wide right from a powerful scrum for Aitzol King to go over.
Leinster scorers: tries – Conan, Byrne, Deegan, J McCarthy, Larmour, King; conversions – Byrne (2).
Dragons: E Rosser; Dyer (A Owen 67), Wilson, S Hughes (Westwood 58), J Rosser; L Evans, Blacker (R Williams 50); Martinez (R Jones 50), Coghlan (Burrows 58), Coleman (Yendle 26-32, 58), Carter (captain), Nott (Screech 5), Woodman, Keddie (Young 64), Lewis-Hughes.
Scorer: penalties – Evans (2).
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland).
