The Dragons were well on their way to securing their second win at home when they hosted the Cell C Sharks on Saturday. However, the Cell C Sharks scored the match-winning try with four minutes left to play, "robbing" the home team of a well-deserved win. The Cell C Sharks won by 20-19.
The arm wrestled continued for the full first 40 minutes of the match. The Sharks were initially dominant come scrum time, however, it evened up a lot later on. The visitors are also troubling their host at the lineouts, while the Dragons are the more dangerous with the ball in hand. The Dragons "deserve" their six-point lead at this stage.
In the last quarter of the match, the game started to open up with both teams breaching the defence on several occasions with desperate defence more than often keeping the opposing team from scoring the match-winning points. The Cell C Sharks scored the winning try with four minutes to go, robbing the Dragons of a deserved win.
08:22 Boeta Chamberlain converted a penalty to open the scoring. (00-03)
11:30 Will Reed made it all even with a converted penalty for the host. (03-03)
14:43 Will Reed converted his second penalty. (06-03)
20:00 At this stage of the match it is still an arm wrestle with both sides playing the territorial game, kicking away possession most of the time. The host have shown that they are dangerous when carrying the ball.
27:50 Will Reed converted the third penalty for the Dragons. (09-03)
32:15 Boeta Chamberlain converted a penalty for the Cell C Sharks. (09-06)
40:52 Will Reed converted his fourth penalty for the Dragons RFC. (12-06)
40:00 The arm wrestle continued for the full first 40 minutes of the match. The Sharks were initially dominant come scrum time, however, it evened up a lot later on. The visitors are also troubling their host at the lineouts, while the Dragons are the more dangerous with the ball in hand.
46:37 Elliot Dee scored the Dragons' first try from the back of a 5m lineout-maul. (19-06)
60:00 The Cell C Sharks came alive after the try of Elliot Dee and only desperate defence from the Dragons kept the Cell C Sharks from scoring several tries. The Dragons are seemingly on their way to securing, their second win in a row, this season.
61:54 Grant Williams scored the Cell C Sharks' first try of the match after he intercepted a ball and ran 50 meters to score. (19-13)
74:40 Thaakir Abrahams scored the Cell C Sharks' second try after some great handling down the touchline. (19-20)
Scorers:
Dragons RFC: Try: Elliot Dee. Conversion: Will Reed. Penalties: Will Reed (4).
Cell C Sharks: Tries: Grant Williams, Thaakir Abrahams. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain (2). Penalties: Boeta Chamberlain (2).
Teams:
Dragons RFC: 15. Angus O’Brien, 14. Rio Dyer, 13. Sio Tomkinson, 12. Jack Dixon, 11. Ashton Hewitt, 10. Will Reed, 9. Rhodri Williams, 8. Ross Moriarty, 7. Taine Basham, 6. George Nott, 5. Will Rowlands (c), 4. Ben Carter, 3. Lloyd Fairbrother, 2. Elliot Dee, 1. Aki Seiuli. Replacements: 16. Bradley Roberts, 17. Rob Evans, 18. Chris Coleman, 19. Joe Davies, 20. Aaron Wainwright, 21. Lewis Jones, 22. Max Clark, 23. Jordan Williams.
Cell C Sharks: 15. Aphelele Fassi, 14. Werner Kok, 13. Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 12. Ben Tapuai, 11. Thaakir Abrahams, 10. Boeta Chamberlain, 9. Grant Williams, 8. Phendulani Buthelezi, 7. Dylan Richardson, 6. James Venter, 5. Reniel Hugo, 4. Justin Basson, 3.Thomas du Toit (c), 2. Kerron van Vuuren, 1. Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: 16. Dan Jooste, 17. Dian Bleuler, 18. Carlu Sadie, 19. Hyron Andrews, 20. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21. Cameron Wright, 22. Marnus Potgieter, 23. Anthony Volmink.