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Landmark result comes at a cost for Dragons as Paea goes under knife

Fetuli Paea of the Highlanders looks on after being defeated during the round nine Super Rugby Pacific match between Western Force and Highlanders at HBF Park, on April 22, 2023, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
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Dragons centre Fetuli Paea is set for a spell on the sidelines after fracturing his arm in round two of the United Rugby Championship against the Sharks.

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The 31-year-old Tonga international was instrumental in the Dragons’ 17-17 draw with the Sharks at Rodney Parade, where they ended an 18-match losing streak, wreaking havoc on the defence and assisting Angus O’Brien’s first-half try – a try he probably could have finished himself.

Paea was a summer signing from Zebre, but will now be sidelined for an indeterminate period of time after undergoing surgery on his arm on Wednesday.

Ahead of the Dragons’ URC clash with Glasgow Warriors, defence coach Dale MacLeod addressed the injury, saying: “Fetuli has had his operation and that was successful.

“There is no timeframe on his return, some of them can vary and we won’t get too caught up on when he’s back. When he’s back, he’s back.

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“It’s a shame because he was very good (against Sharks), he carried strong, defended strong, and he’s fitted in very well.

“He will now have the full support of the medical and S&C team at Dragons RFC as he goes through that process.”

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Elsewhere, MacLeod provided updates on Wales internationals Thomas Young and Elliot Dee.

“Thomas is training well and is not far off,” he said. “When you have a leg injury like this you don’t want to come back too early. He’s running and we’ll stick to a plan with him as he is vital,” he said.

“Elliot is rehabbing, and we’re looking to get him back into work. We will see how he goes over the next couple of weeks.

“They are both vital around the group with that experience, we have a lot of young lads, so they are adding value. They are positive about when they are coming back.”

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NoLongerARuck 7 minutes ago
Rugby's Greatest Rivalry deep dive - what has happened to the All Blacks’ scrum?

Alot of people have talked about how the AB's are making progress and getting closer to the Boks. Its also important to ask where the net gain has been. In 4 games under Razor the AB's attack failed dismally and struggled to score tries. The Boks outscored them comprehensively. Even so the All Blacks led for long periods in Joburg and Cape Town in 24. They lost each game by one score. They led all the way in Auckland and led for a quarter of the match in Wellington. Razors team always lost control in the final quarter of matches against the boks where the Boks bench completely overpowered them.

Under Rennie the AB's have scored plenty of tries, more than the Boks, they have rediscovered their attacking threat but they have regressed in other areas. Their scrum has totally capitulated, their lineout has been hammered, they are turning the ball over more at break down and in the tackle. They are making mistakes within their attacking template that has cost them and presented the Boks opportunities and so their defence has suffered with the Boks making hay in the last 3 games outscoring them in terms of tries and pts during that period. They have conceded 2 and 3 score leads in the last 3 matches heading into the final quarter. At Cape Town it was 16 points, Soweto 12 pts and in the US 15 pts. The Boks established control of Rennies team earlier and led for longer with AB's forced to chase games. They won the second half in Ellis Park comprehensively and the final quarters in the next 2 matches matches but little else illustrating the lack of control for the AB's.



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