Dragons draw with Benetton in URC clash at Rodney Parade

The Italians, without 23 Test players because of the Six Nations, had a chance to take the spoils at the death after Wales hooker Elliot Dee was sent off for attempting to clear out a ruck dangerously.

However, fly-half Tomas Albornoz failed to land a very kickable penalty and the Dragons escaped with a share of the spoils from what was really a must-win game in the United Rugby Championship.

Benetton led 10-3 at the break but it was level-pegging early in the second half when captain Ross Moriarty, aiming for impress ahead of the Six Nations, crashed over from five metres. Penalties were then traded before the dramatic finale.

It was a result and performance to prompt that frequent question, ‘where do the Dragons go from here?’.

Benetton, while limited, looked like a team with a plan. The Dragons looked rudderless for most of the game, low on confidence and lacking oomph.

This was a matchday squad featuring genuine first-teamers, this wasn’t a 23 thrown together because of Covid or a glut of international call-ups.

Forget talk about budgets, professional sport is a results business and the Dragons’ have been disastrous.

Ross Moriarty on the charge for the Dragons

It’s now one win in 11, they are out of Europe barring a freak set of results in April and are battling with Zebre to avoid being the worst team in the URC.

At the moment it is hard to see where the next win will come, with Ulster the next opponents on February 20.

The nature of the URC meant it wasn’t must-win in terms of battling the drop of targeting the play-offs but it was essential to get a victory for the long-suffering supporters.

They haven’t been in the ground for a win in Newport since the February 2020 success over the Cheetahs while it had been 278 days since the Rainbow Cup triumph against the Scarlets behind closed doors.

Those streaks will stretch on.

The annual summer optimism was gone as the leaves began to fall and a record of played 11, won 1, drawn 1, lost 9 means talk of a young group making progress is insulting to the intelligence of fans that put their hands in pockets.

No doubt there will be talk of positives and about how Benetton are no pushovers, even without their Italy contingent, but his was a massively deflating evening.

The Dragons were slightly off in the opening stages with a couple of forward passes, an attacking breakdown penalty and then one in defence that allowed Tomas Albornoz to kick the visitors into a 13th minute lead.

There was a serious lack of action to get excited about with the game taking place to the sound of conversations, rather like at a cricket match, rather than roars.

But there were groans after 22 minutes when a trio of penalties were kicked to the corner by Benetton before hooker Corniel Els guided a drive over the line for a try that Albornoz converted.

The Dragons produced an abject half hour of rugby that was summed up by their failure to strike twice in the 22 in their bid to get into the game, first when prop Aki Seiuli was turned over with ease and then when a lineout was overthrown.

They had another chance to strike before the break only for the lineout to be picked off.

Still they got another chance to strike before the break only for the ball to pop out of the maul without scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou realising, leading to the isolated Sam Davies being penalised for holding on 10 metres out.

Thankfully it wasn’t a scoreless first half for the Dragons thanks to the left boot of their fly-half with Davies banging over a penalty after Bertranou had worked his team up the field with a pair of quick taps.

Harri Keddie looks for a way through

At 10-3 down there was a LOT of work to be done but thankfully Benetton gifted them a way back in with a knock-on under no pressure five metres out.

The Dragons were awarded a free-kick from the resulting scrum that Moriarty tapped, charged and then reached over for a try after 43 minutes.

Davies converted but the hosts then failed to gather the restart before gifting a penalty that was knocked over by Albornoz for 13-10.

Ryan called fit-again Wales internationals Elliot Dee and Rhodri Williams from the bench in a bid to spark his side into life.

It was level-pegging again in the 62nd minute when Davies knocked over a penalty from in front of the posts and an error-free period was needed by the Dragons.

Yet a trip to the 22 ended in a knock-on by tighthead Chris Coleman and then a breakdown penalty, and 10 extra metres for talking back to referee Andrew Brace, meant Benetton were allowed to put the pressure on themselves.

Thankfully they continued the theme of mistakes to let the Dragons off the hook.

It was the hosts’ turn to go close after a Davies cross-kick to wing Jordan Olowofela but full-back Josh Lewis couldn’t gather his (slightly unforgiving) inside pass with the line begging.

Another chance went begging with eight minutes to go when strong carries by wing Jonah Holmes and back rower Ollie Griffiths worked the Dragons to within five metres of the line only for them to go off their feet at the breakdown.

Their best period of carrying led to a chance for a drop goal for Davies but his effort from 40 metres out drifted to the left of the posts with four minutes left.

Lewis then had to slide to save the day after a Rhodri Williams clearance was charged down but the final chance for the win came with the clock in the red for Benetton.

Albornoz’s drop goal was short and horrible and the Dragons kept playing, with Dee then red-carded for flying dangerously into a ruck. The visiting fly-half failed to add to his anguish.

Dragons: J Lewis; J Holmes, A Warren, A Owen, J Olowofela; S Davies, G Bertranou (R Williams 49); A Seiuli (J Reynolds 70), T Davies (E Dee 49), C Coleman (M Doge 67), J Davies, J Maksymiw, H Keddie, O Griffiths, R Moriarty (captain, H Taylor 67).

Scorers: tries – R Moriarty; conversion – S Davies; penalties – S Davies (2)

Benetton scorers: tries – C Els; conversions – T Albornoz; penalties – T Albornoz (2)

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)