RODNEY PARADE TIE Gwent Dragons 23 Connacht 10:CONNACHT AWAY wins come about as often as European referendums but just as the men from Galway looked set for a rare "yes", they fluffed their chance to ram home the winning vote in front of 5,331 spectators at Rodney Parade on Saturday.
The Dragons were by far the more relieved team to hear the half-time whistle, despite their 13-10 lead, after a 25-minute purple patch by Connacht. However Connacht’s failing was not putting more points on the board. Kiwi outhalf Miah Nikora glided through for a solo score, converted by himself before adding a penalty. But they should have had more. Keith Matthews looked to have touched down after pouncing on a defensive howler by the Dragons on their own try line following Nikora’s kick through but the fourth official ruled the Connacht centre had knocked on without scoring.
Jonny O’Connor was also stopped short while if fullback Gavin Duffy had his wits about him to complete an interception with 60 yards of clear green grass before him, Connacht would have led at the break.
The game remained in the balance in the second half and even Shaun Connor’s penalty for the Dragons only handed them a six-point lead. But when you’re down, the bounce of the ball rarely goes your way and following a frantic series of mistakes and dropped passes, it was Dragons number eight Joe Bearman who scooped up possession and galloped over to finally settle the tie.
The 80th-minute try denied Connacht even a bonus point, which alone would have put them level with Cardiff Blues and the Scarlets, but also a first away win in the Magners League since in three years. “It was harsh to come away with nothing especially after we were looking at an away win at half-time, which is pretty rare for us,” said their beleaguered coach Michael Bradley. “ . . . we have to look at ourselves for this defeat and that’s frustrating, for everyone involved.”
Connacht took time to get into their stride after Bradley axed half the team that lost to Ulster the previous week, and the new faces were caught ball watching as they fell 10 points behind.
Connacht’s defence had scrambled well to deny prop Gethin Robinson over the line. However they failed to react as quickly from the ensuing scrum when backrow Bearman delivered a sublime reverse pass to openside Harris who swaggered through on 15 minutes. James Arlidge added the conversion to his earlier penalty.
That proved the required wake-up call for the visitors who enjoyed the rest of the half far more and after Matthews and O’Connor went close, Nikora provided the touch of class to score. However it was a rare moment for Connacht, just like away wins.
NG Dragons: M Thomas; A Brew, R Gomer-Davies, T Riley, R Fussell; J Arlidge (S Connor, 50), D Lee (W Evans, 60); H Gustafson, S Jones, G Robinson (N Hall, 44), A Jones, L Charteris (capt), D Lydiate, J Bearman, J Harris (H MacDonald, 49).
CONNACHT: G Duffy; B Tuohy, T Nathan, K Matthews, L Bibo; M Nikora (I Keatley, 69), C O'Loughlin (F Murphy, 60); R Loughney (B Wilkinson, 52), S Cronin, J Hagan, M Swift (A Browne, 49-62, 76), B Upton, M McCarthy, J Muldoon (capt), J O'Connor.
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon(Ireland)
