Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Wasteful Dragons give Lions a scare in Johannesburg

By PA
Henco van Wyk of the Lions in action during the United Rugby Championship match between The Dragons and The Lions at Rodney Parade on May 21, 2022 in Newport, Wales. (Photo by Huw Fairclough/Getty Images)

The Dragons were made to rue wasted opportunities as they suffered their first defeat in three matches in a battling 33-25 United Rugby Championship loss at the hands of the Lions in Johannesburg.

ADVERTISEMENT

Prior to Sunday’s fixture, the hosts had won all three of their away fixtures but suffered defeats in each of their three matches at Emirates Airline Park.

The Dragons failed to make the most of an early Lions yellow card, and Ruhan Straeuli’s try combined with 14 points from the boot of Jordan Hendrikse had the home side 19-6 up at the interval.

Video Spacer

Video Spacer

Sio Tomkinson went over with the Lions down to 14 men again early in the second period, but Hendrikse’s touchdown kept the visitors at arm’s length.

James Benjamin’s try showed the Dragons were still in the fight, but JP Smith effectively wrapped up the win and Che Hope’s late score served only as consolation, as the Welsh region fell just short of a bonus point.

A pair of Hendrikse penalties, either side of a Sam Davies effort, gave the Lions an early lead.

Related

However, it was the visitors who were arguably enjoying the better of possession, and the Lions had Emmanuel Tshituka sin-binned for a trip after 15 minutes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Davies, who had played a central role in a move that saw the Dragons get agonisingly close to the Lions’ line just prior to Tshituka’s departure, then added his second penalty to pull the scores level.

Hendrikse then sent over a drop goal in the 28th minute, before Quan Horn’s 50:22 gave the Lions territory that ultimately led to the game’s first try.

Ross Moriarty saw yellow for collapsing a maul and Straeuli eventually crashed over to open up some daylight on the scoreboard, with Hendrikse’s conversion and a subsequent penalty making it 19-6 at the break.

The Lions lost Henco van Wyk to the sin bin early in the second half after his shoulder made contact with the head of Joe Davies.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Dragons quickly made their hosts pay, with Tomkinson collecting Sam Davies’ cross-kick to go over in the corner.

Related

The fly-half was unable to add the extras and the Lions re-established their cushion when Hendrikse went twisting and turning over the line before converting his own score.

Moriarty was dispossessed at the crucial moment as a promising Dragons move came to nothing, before Aki Seiuli failed to keep hold of the ball as he leapt over a ruck on the Lions’ line.

Benjamin eventually crossed for the Dragons’ second try from a maul, and JJ Hanrahan’s conversion had the Welsh region within eight.

The match looked all but won when Smith burrowed over soon after, with Gianni Lombard adding the extras, but there was still time for Hope to touch down and Hanrahan to make it 33-25.

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

A
Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

11 Go to comments
T
Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE Luke Cowan-Dickie: 'I didn’t feel right. I felt like I was going to pass out. Everything was going black in front of me' Luke Cowan-Dickie: 'I didn’t feel right. I felt like I was going to pass out. Everything was going black in front of me'
Search