THE 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.
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 Iris.