Battling Dragons are once again left to ponder, ‘what if’ (From South Wales Argus)
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Battling Dragons are once again left to ponder, ‘what if’
6:02pm Sunday 21st October 2012 in Sport
By Chris Kirwan
GREAT START: Dragon Tom Brown goes over for the first touchdown
DRAGONS 19 BAYONNE 22
STILL in his garish special edition purple kit and weary after a bruising 80 minutes, scrum-half Jonathan Evans summed it up perfectly as he reflected on Newport Gwent Dragons’ performance against Bayonne.
“We wanted to come off the field without any ‘ifs’ and without wondering what could have happened, but that’s exactly what we’ve got,” he lamented.
It’s what would have kept the players awake in the early hours of Sunday, that and the bumps and bruises after giving their all.
If only fly-half Lewis Robling had passed to wing Will Harries when the line was seemingly at his mercy in the first half.
If only they hadn’t allowed Bayonne back into the game when leading 16-6 approaching half-time.
If only full-back Tom Prydie had popped a simple pass to Tonderai Chavhanga when the former Springbok speedster had a run-in.
If only the mightily impressive Andy Tuilagi had not kicked turnover ball away when he seemed to have an overlap to his right.
If only they had sneaked over the line when the 80 minutes were gone and they rattled through 21 phases à la Munster in their pomp in search of a winner.
The Dragons put in a gutsy performance that restored some pride after a gloomy few weeks but they will also have plenty of regrets as they meet up again to try to plot the downfall of unbeaten Ulster on Friday evening.
They had the chances to add Bayonne to last year’s scalp of Perpignan but lacked the composure to nail their chances.
Yet there was much that was encouraging in their display against the Frenchmen.
Yes, it was another home defeat – a fifth in eight games – and it signals the end of their Amlin Challenge Cup campaign after just two games.
But the pack responded to recent justified criticism by, in the parlance they love, ‘fronting up’ to a pretty formidable Bayonne eight while the backs took it to their opposition and chanced their arm rather than going into their shells.
There were plenty of standout peformances, with Andy Tuilagi immense in midfield, number eight Toby Faletau getting through a mountain of work in attack and defence, blindside Tom Brown knocking Bayonne back and prop Owen Evans, on his first start, raising the question ‘where’s he been lurking?’ after impressing in the loose and the set piece.
The challenge is to maintain the standard that they set against Bayonne rather than relapsing into the displays against Cardiff Blues and the Scarlets that leave them playing catch-up in the Pro12.
The Dragons started superbly and were in front after six minutes thanks to a training- ground move that saw Tuilagi crash the ball up before swift second-phase ball allowed Brown to take a short pass from scrum-half Evans to go dashing over from 25 metres.
It was then all about the kickers, with Prydie booting a pair of penalties to go along with his conversion and Bayonne’s metronomic fly-half Benjamin Boyet striking a pair of three-pointers.
On the half-hour came the first of the Dragons’ regrets when Robling made a magnificent break but failed to give the pass to Harries on his right.
It’s possible that the wing would have been tackled by Thibault Lacroix but he should have been given the chance.
That trip to the 22 did yield another three points through the boot of Prydie, but with the Dragons in control at 16-6 they left the door ajar for the French side before the break.
Harries ran the ball when isolated in his own half rather than putting boot to ball and was turned over by lock Abdellatif Boutaty. Bayonne went on the attack and after a couple of thrusts by Gabiriele Lovobalavu it was Aussie skipper Mark Chisholm who crashed over.
Boyet converted, then added a penalty, and the Dragons had thrown away a 10-point lead that could have led to Gallic shrugs (albeit with a southern hemisphere twist) at half-time.
It was nip and tuck for all of the second half but the visitors, for whom former France Under-20s wing Marvin O’Connor had been a real threat, were just about worthy of their 22-19 lead as the clock struck 80.
Then the Dragons stole a lineout – their first of the evening – and produced what is probably their best attack of the season so far, looking after the ball and asking questions of the Bayonne defence through 21 phases that marched them 40 metres back to their own line.
In the end it was a slow death, the television match official taking his time before confirming what most feared – that the Dragons had been held up over the line.
That they didn’t go for a drop goal to share the spoils in a must-win game is commendable, and that late, late attack showed what they are capable of.
Just like the Pro12 win against Edinburgh, it wasn’t a performance that can mask the problems that exist at the region.
But the voices that roared them on in a dramatic late flurry told a story. They were far happier safe in the knowledge that their team had given it everything.
Comments(29)
Doberman1
says...
8:42am Mon 22 Oct 12
If DE was not the coach we might not be the laughing stock of the league and on a downward spiral to nowhere.
Regionalist
says...
11:31am Mon 22 Oct 12
Dai the Milk wrote:An absurd view. The weakness in the regions goes much deeper than your bitterness and xenophobia I'm afraid.
Men against boys. It always will be as long as the not-so-super-clubs remain exclusive by retaining their names and refusing to become inclusive. No crowds = no money = no players = no success. This is the pattern until it collapses.
SWBorderer
says...
12:12pm Mon 22 Oct 12
If only the men at the top had given Paul Turner some support instead of hanging him out to dry so they could install their puppet.
If only we had not been saddled with this hotch potch, masquerading as Regional Rugby, thought up by a foreign import with no understanding of Welsh Rugby.
If only......if only
Linejudge
says...
12:50pm Mon 22 Oct 12
If only, people that made remarks on here knew what they were talking about!
If only, they could go back to watching football again, because they have no idea about rugby!
Every week thousands of TRUE Dragons supporters go to watch the games and will continue to watch the games and support the Dragons irrespective of the rubbish that it posted on here.
Actually, thinking about it, most of the posts on here refuse to go and watch the Dragons....THANK GOD FOR THAT!
Dai the Milk
says...
1:31pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Dragons den
says...
1:40pm Mon 22 Oct 12
When they judge and criticize the Dragons it says nothing about the Dragons, it merely says something about their own need to be critical.
Doberman1
says...
2:07pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Linejudge wrote:ST holder who goes to every game thank you.
If only, we could get rid of these negative posts.
If only, people that made remarks on here knew what they were talking about!
If only, they could go back to watching football again, because they have no idea about rugby!
Every week thousands of TRUE Dragons supporters go to watch the games and will continue to watch the games and support the Dragons irrespective of the rubbish that it posted on here.
Actually, thinking about it, most of the posts on here refuse to go and watch the Dragons....THANK GOD FOR THAT!
If only people respected others right to comment,whatever their opinion. It's called free speech, don't like it....move to China.
It's a results business professional sport and ours are not (for a long time) good enough. When I go and watch sport on a local park for free I don't mind seeing amateur behaviour and performances, when I pay to watch proffesional sport I expect to see proffesionalism, not too much to ask is it?
TRUTH HURTS?
Dragons den
says...
3:10pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Doberman1…Give your Season ticket to someone who will support and cheer on our boys through this very difficult (injury strewn time) and to someone who will help stamp out the outrageous negativity that we see on here.
And then they can join the rest of us ST’s who will be at the Parade and away matches doing our little bit to help the boys along the way and up the table.
In my experience, there is only one motivation and that is desire and I believe the Dragons have plenty of desire on that pitch and thousands of other supporters have the desire to support them doing it .
Linejudge
says...
3:15pm Mon 22 Oct 12
ten2two
says...
3:48pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Doberman1
says...
3:50pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Dragons den wrote:More from the DE apologists who simply refuse to accept a counter argument.
“Free speech”…. that was exactly portrayed by Line judge of “China”…..
Doberman1…Give your Season ticket to someone who will support and cheer on our boys through this very difficult (injury strewn time) and to someone who will help stamp out the outrageous negativity that we see on here.
And then they can join the rest of us ST’s who will be at the Parade and away matches doing our little bit to help the boys along the way and up the table.
In my experience, there is only one motivation and that is desire and I believe the Dragons have plenty of desire on that pitch and thousands of other supporters have the desire to support them doing it .
I offer you the opportunity to talk us through what exactly DE has achieved since taking over.
Keep a close eye on those "thousands" you refer to, won't be long before they dwindle away,fed up with another defeat as a result of the same old lack of proffesionalism...lo
ts of desire though.
For the record, on match days I think I cheer for my team as loudly as anyone, always around the 22 on the Hazell Terrace at the changing room end. A lot closer to the pitch than DE ever gets.
corpardguy
says...
4:50pm Mon 22 Oct 12
We don't seem to have a game plan/style/cohesion, its just go out and play a game of rugby, Oh and try and win it by spoiling the other teams possession.
The article says the first try was a training ground move, do we have any others??? The boys are fit enough and they can hold their own in the loose against a lot of the Rabo 12 outfits, but where's the game plan built around the team strengths?
We have a good (and pretty well covered) back row and a set of backs to be proud of topped off by a really good back three, thats a good deal more than a lot of the rest of the Rabo.have.
I reckon after Xmas young Robbling will be a much better distributor and be moving the line well. However he needs a good run there now with young Jones coming on after 65 mins (or Off after 40)depending how the match is going!
If we are winning by that much again just before half time, stop kicking, take all the tackles and KEEP possession at every opportunity. , Second half start playing rugby again..... but no scoring against us in the last 10 mins of the half, its too important.
We need to win either ugly or pretty, but no more HOME losses.
Robert Shillabeer
says...
5:51pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Linejudge wrote:Linejudge, you have made my day. so there are some out there who think the same as me. The Dragons did very well on Saturday and it would have taken only a few more inches to have won that game with a supeb but fruitless effort by the pack. Iwonder what the comment would have been had we scored that try at the end? Perhaps there would not have been any comments from the non supporters or am I being a bit hard on them as they would have been full of praise for a hard fought win. Getting a bit fed up with all the negativity being posted and the threat not to use or renew thier season tickets does make me wonder exactly whatright hav they to comment on a side they refuse to support in the first place, SW excused as he lives so far away, but some more real support would be nice.
If only, we could get rid of these negative posts.
If only, people that made remarks on here knew what they were talking about!
If only, they could go back to watching football again, because they have no idea about rugby!
Every week thousands of TRUE Dragons supporters go to watch the games and will continue to watch the games and support the Dragons irrespective of the rubbish that it posted on here.
Actually, thinking about it, most of the posts on here refuse to go and watch the Dragons....THANK GOD FOR THAT!
Monster Munch McCoy
says...
5:56pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Linejudge wrote:Linejudge and Dragons Den. I think you will find most people who criticise are true supporters and mainly ST holders. Thats why they are so passionate about the way the region has been going downhill for the past season and a half and why they criticise on these threats and call for change. They want and expect better performances from a professional team. They also turn up each week rain or shine a support the team.
Dragons den......it will fall on deaf ears...
They do not want to criticise each week and would prefer to be talking about great victories but the frustration with the results and performance and lack of direction is driving the view on these threads. I am a very optomistic person but can see very little at the dragons at present that shows me there is better to come in the near future (apart from the 6 pint dispenser in the Watkins bar that has sped things up a bit).
Balance view from Saturday:
Pros
A better performance
Andy T's best game.
Owen Evans look decent
Cons
We still lost
Chav never got the ball (Sell him and use the money on the front row). Not his fault but an unnecessary expense at present.
Nimmo is not living up to expectation.
COME ON THE DRAGONS!!!!
number12
says...
9:37pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Doberman1 wrote:good comeback! summed it all up rather well I thought!
Linejudge wrote:ST holder who goes to every game thank you.
If only, we could get rid of these negative posts.
If only, people that made remarks on here knew what they were talking about!
If only, they could go back to watching football again, because they have no idea about rugby!
Every week thousands of TRUE Dragons supporters go to watch the games and will continue to watch the games and support the Dragons irrespective of the rubbish that it posted on here.
Actually, thinking about it, most of the posts on here refuse to go and watch the Dragons....THANK GOD FOR THAT!
If only people respected others right to comment,whatever their opinion. It's called free speech, don't like it....move to China.
It's a results business professional sport and ours are not (for a long time) good enough. When I go and watch sport on a local park for free I don't mind seeing amateur behaviour and performances, when I pay to watch proffesional sport I expect to see proffesionalism, not too much to ask is it?
TRUTH HURTS?
Dragons den
says...
10:11pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Arrh.... How sweet , one day they will realise that all the **** and negative comments are not doing anyone any favours.
Thank god those that can influence the Dragons don't listen to this crap !
Doberman1
says...
10:58pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Dragons den wrote:And burying your head in the sand whilst wearing your rose tinted specs is clearly the way forward. Let's excuse abject results with a shrug of the shoulders and the hope that it might get better soon, without ever offering a view as to how to improve. Your whole approach smacks of the Rugby Club committees of yesteryear, amateurish.
Robert ... It would seem that loyal ST's don't really want to criticise but feel the have to!
Arrh.... How sweet , one day they will realise that all the **** and negative comments are not doing anyone any favours.
Thank god those that can influence the Dragons don't listen to this crap !
Let's hope that you are never anything to do with a proffesional sports team, your lofty aspirations at being content at the bottom of the league will no doubt be a real selling point to potential major sponsors or investors...."come and put your money into my team, we never win but we try hard", will really have them rushing to be associated with us.
Let's hope those in charge at the Dragons do not get infected with your lack of ambition....or are they already?
Robert Shillabeer
says...
11:51pm Mon 22 Oct 12
Doberman1
says...
8:45am Tue 23 Oct 12
Robert Shillabeer wrote:Robert - in the case of the last game I acknowledged the effort of the team as you will see on the result thread. I wil always acknowledge effort when I see it as I will always support my team whilst watching them.
Doberman it is nothing to do with toeing the line or sticking ones head in the sand. It's about being fair to all points of view. Most views expressed have been critical without having insider knowledge, my views suffer the same condition so it is purely my view of things. The last game we were very unlucky not to get that try, praise is due to the team for the effort. The ref made a few decisions early on that we're very questionable, but there were more decisions that could have been questioned by both sides, that's the nature of games were ref decisions effect the end result. As the old saying goes s**t sticks, ok we move on. To ridicule the effort is unforgivable, total commitment from all the team was evident and must be praised, because to cry that down as many have on this site is to destroy ant hope for the future.
All the other things you elude to such as ref's, the "nearly try", injuries etc happen to every other club in sport week in week out and in my view they tend to balance out across all clubs in a season.....but we are still bottom of the league (not even considering zebre)...why is that?
I could provide a long list of club related stuff which confirms amateur attitudes exist from the top down and certainly does nothing to suggest a proffesional approach is taken to anything at RP. But the main thrux of my (and loads of others) supposed negativity is in relation to DE who, like it or not is responsible for preparing the team and thus responsible for the results. In any proffesional sporting team the coach has to be responsible for results and in any proffesional team who had the results we have had under DE the coach would be removed from position. He has a contract which has to be dealt with...so it needs to be dealt with, not put up as an excuse for no action.
I have asked you and others to explain what DE has done in terms of progression of the team, no response yet.
Effort is one thing but sadly it does not win games alone, we need more. DE is out of his depth, it was a trial that simply has not worked and needs to be ended otherwise prepare for more defeats, more frustration, dwindling crowds leading to more financial issues and all that comes with it.
To your other point about Toby and Dan....do you really believe they will stick with us? I would wager they will be gone at the end of the season, sadly.
RobFord
says...
9:14am Tue 23 Oct 12
Robert Shillabeer
says...
2:04pm Tue 23 Oct 12
Dai the Milk
says...
6:46pm Tue 23 Oct 12
corpardguy
says...
12:51am Wed 24 Oct 12
Now hands up who thinks the board should resign?
Hands up who thinks its Lack of Cash?
Hands up who thinks DE should Go?
Hands up who thinks its the players not trying hard enough?
Hands up who thinks its conditioning?
hands up who thinks its because we are called NEWPORT Gwent Dragons?
Hands up who thinks its a ref's conspiracy?
Personally I think DE has had a good go at this and he is falling short. I think the players are working hard, and most can compete consistently with the rest of the Rabo on pretty equal basis (except the Front five). Often it seems there is no game plan and we REACT react to the opposition too much rather than taking the game to them especially at home! (thats DE fault in my book.)
Forget about the Ref's its out of our control, get on with it.
Boards not going anywhere soon, and anyway who would come in place??
DE can Go! Enough money, a Vision going forward, and a good challenge with a couple of good Wales/ world class palyers and a couple more just on the cusp should bring a few decent inquiries I believe. (Ruddock!??!)
Crowds follow success, Jesus! ....they even follow NGD....... They will come back.
Doberman1
says...
2:49pm Wed 24 Oct 12
Robert Shillabeer wrote:Plebs.....come on Robert, you need to be better than that. It's a debate not an insult forum.
**** Dai, I don't swear very often but that is crap. Appologies for using such language. It really annoys me when plebs just talk such s**t. The regions are the first tier in Welsh rugby just like Irish rugby because to spread the better players to thinly will not improve the game in Wales and we would very soon be below the likes of Italy and other east European countries. There is not enough cash in Wales to support ten sides at such a good standard to meet the needs of the WRU, that's why the WRU must put more money not regional rugby or lose thier player stream and the loss of status and money into Welsh rugby resulting n the demise of rugby as the national sport which would still be played but at an amateur standard which very few people would find matter a s**t.
Robert Shillabeer
says...
3:04pm Wed 24 Oct 12
Robert Shillabeer
says...
11:35pm Wed 24 Oct 12
Doberman1
says...
3:06pm Thu 25 Oct 12
Robert Shillabeer wrote:No one has insulted you Robert, you may try and remember that. The credibility of your debate vanishes when you resort to insults, no matter how you try and justify it.
Seems I've over stepped the bounds of fair comment, the moderators have been in touch. No offence was intended but suffice to say its a two way road. I will observe the moderators comments and expect other to do the same, I am entitled to my view so please fair comment in future.
Robert Shillabeer
says...
9:51pm Thu 25 Oct 12
Dai the Milk says...
6:50pm Sun 21 Oct 12