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Dragons end European Campaign with Seven-Try Win
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With neither Newport Gwent Dragons nor RC I Cavalieri Prato capable of progressing to the quarter finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup, it was perhaps surprising to see the Hazell Stand and Terrace of Rodney Parade so well-populated for Saturday's final Pool Four match. A once-traditional kick-off time of three o'clock is certain to have contributed to an attendance figure of 4,736. The teams' positions in their respective domestic leagues could scarcely have been more contrasting - Cavalieri sitting atop Italy's Eccellenza, the Dragons keeping company with Connacht and Aironi at the wrong end of the RaboDirect Pro 12 - but both came to the match eager to end their European adventure with a morale-boosting victory.
It was the home side that took the first step towards that victory: Cavalieri were caught offside on their 10-metre line and from the tap penalty, fly half Jason Tovey accepted a gap in the Prato midfield and broke through. The ball was recycled right and hooker Rhys Buckley crossed for the first try after four minutes, Tovey adding the two points.
It took until the ninth minute for Cavalieri to respond, good hands from lock Uili Kolo'ofai putting Kiwi full back Dion Berryman away on the left; Dragons left wing Aled Brew flew out of the defensive line to clatter fly half Riccardo Bocchino, who did well not to spill the ball in the collision. Bocchino showed no ill-effects as he kicked the visitors' first points after the Dragons were penalised for the tackler not releasing.
The Dragons extended their lead after 13 minutes when the ball was switched to the blindside from a scrum on the Prato 10-metre line. Jason Tovey eluded three men, flanker Dan Lydiate made ground and when the ball came right, centre Adam Hughes ran a lovely angle to go over. Lydiate's role in the try proved to be his last involvement in the game as he hobbled off with an ankle injury, a concern for Wales coach Warren Gatland with the opening round of the Six Nations championship a fortnight away.
The two-try advantage was indicative of the Dragons' dominance in the opening period, with talismanic number eight Toby Faletau and centres Adam Hughes and Andy Tuilagi making ground with almost every touch of the ball. Both midfielders revelled in the space they were finding and despite one being considerably heftier than the other, they proved equally hard to bring down. The third try came to another of the Dragons' key players, Aled Brew, courtesy of a long, looping pass from Tovey and some poor tackling from the visitors.
A long-range penalty from Bocchino doubled Cavalieri's tally in the 23rd minute, but it did little to stem the tide and full back Berryman was yellow-carded soon afterwards for a deliberate knock-on when Faletau's inside pass, after a storming run, would surely have led to a try. That fourth and bonus-point try eventually came on the half-hour mark when Samoan centre Tuilagi shrugged off three would-be tacklers to score from close range.
The first half ended with Tovey, who was showing what a capable general he can be, spotting a gap on the 10-metre line and ghosting through to run in unopposed. Bocchino failed to land an ambitious long penalty and the Dragons, who had won the away leg of this fixture 33 - 3, found themselves leading 33 - 6 at the break.
If the home fans were expecting their team to press home their advantage in the second half, they would have been shocked to see the visitors make the brighter start. From halfway, replacement prop Gerlando Marino showed great pace to break down the right touchline. The ball went through the hands and Bocchino put in a beautiful grubber kick that he regathered. The Dragons managed to get the ball clear, but centre Clemens von Grumblow beat two defenders in running the ball back and put wing Niccolo Tempestini over on the right.
The Dragons reacted well to the try, and full back Martyn Thomas came more and more into the game. He was unfortunate not to score a try, stepping inside one defender and outstripping another four for pace only to lose the ball in the tackle metres from the line. But the visitors were now playing some good rugby of their own, Bocchino dummying and putting von Grumblow clear only for his pass to be deemed forward by referee Andrew McMenemy. It was not just in attack that Cavalieri had improved; Tuilagi was seeing just as much ball as he had in the first half, but the Italians had now learnt not to go too high in the tackle. In the scrums, Cavalieri were getting on top.
The Dragons had gone almost 30 minutes without adding to their half-time score when Huw Gustafson found himself clean through from a Jason Tovey pass, but either the replacement prop failed to see the two supporting runners or he chose to ignore them. But the groans of frustration from the crowd became a roar of near-relief when Aled Brew, finding himself at scrum half, put in a kick and Martyn Thomas dropped on to the ball for a deserved try, the score 38 - 11 after Tovey's conversion.
If the result of the match remained in any doubt, that doubt was removed when Cavalieri made a hash of a scissors move in the Dragons' half and replacement centre Lewis Robling gathered the bobbling ball. Robling handed off Berryman and beat the last covering defender to cross in the left-hand corner.
The last word, however, went to the visitors, who ended a much-improved second-half display with their second try. Replacement Pino Patelli kicked through, there was no one at home for the Dragons and lively replacement wing Billy Ngawini dotted down, making the final score Newport Gwent Dragons 45, Cavalieri Prato 16.
So the Dragons' European campaign, which had seen them top their pool after a good win over Perpignan, ended with a victory that showed both sides of their character this season: a willingness to run the ball, often with the skill to match their ambition; but also lapses in concentration which have seen them lose more games than they have won. Nevertheless, a seven-try bonus-point win is no mean achievement in European competition and it could be just the fillip they need as they seek to climb the Pro 12 table.
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Newport-Gwent Dragons:
M Thomas, Harries, Hughes, Tuilagi, Brew; Tovey, Bedford; Price, Buckley, Way, A Jones, Sidoli, Lydiate, L Evans, Faletau.
Replacements: Parry for Lydiate (16), Gustafson for A Jones (40), J Evans for Bedford (58), Robling for Brew (66), S Jones for Buckley (66), Buck for Way (66).
Cavalieri Prato:
Berryman (sinbinned 26-36), Lunardi, Von Grumbkow, Chiesa, Tempestini; Bocchino, Di Vignale; De Gregori, Lupetti, Ryan, Kolo'ofai, Cazzola, Petillo, Damiani, Nifo-Tautua.
Replacements: Patelli for Di Vignale (40),Bernini for Lupetti (40), Giovachelli for Cazzola (40), Ngwaini for Lunardi (45), Marino for De Gregori (55), Belardo for Tempestini (58), Vezzosi for Damiani (58)
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It was the home side that took the first step towards that victory: Cavalieri were caught offside on their 10-metre line and from the tap penalty, fly half Jason Tovey accepted a gap in the Prato midfield and broke through. The ball was recycled right and hooker Rhys Buckley crossed for the first try after four minutes, Tovey adding the two points.
It took until the ninth minute for Cavalieri to respond, good hands from lock Uili Kolo'ofai putting Kiwi full back Dion Berryman away on the left; Dragons left wing Aled Brew flew out of the defensive line to clatter fly half Riccardo Bocchino, who did well not to spill the ball in the collision. Bocchino showed no ill-effects as he kicked the visitors' first points after the Dragons were penalised for the tackler not releasing.
The Dragons extended their lead after 13 minutes when the ball was switched to the blindside from a scrum on the Prato 10-metre line. Jason Tovey eluded three men, flanker Dan Lydiate made ground and when the ball came right, centre Adam Hughes ran a lovely angle to go over. Lydiate's role in the try proved to be his last involvement in the game as he hobbled off with an ankle injury, a concern for Wales coach Warren Gatland with the opening round of the Six Nations championship a fortnight away.
The two-try advantage was indicative of the Dragons' dominance in the opening period, with talismanic number eight Toby Faletau and centres Adam Hughes and Andy Tuilagi making ground with almost every touch of the ball. Both midfielders revelled in the space they were finding and despite one being considerably heftier than the other, they proved equally hard to bring down. The third try came to another of the Dragons' key players, Aled Brew, courtesy of a long, looping pass from Tovey and some poor tackling from the visitors.
A long-range penalty from Bocchino doubled Cavalieri's tally in the 23rd minute, but it did little to stem the tide and full back Berryman was yellow-carded soon afterwards for a deliberate knock-on when Faletau's inside pass, after a storming run, would surely have led to a try. That fourth and bonus-point try eventually came on the half-hour mark when Samoan centre Tuilagi shrugged off three would-be tacklers to score from close range.
The first half ended with Tovey, who was showing what a capable general he can be, spotting a gap on the 10-metre line and ghosting through to run in unopposed. Bocchino failed to land an ambitious long penalty and the Dragons, who had won the away leg of this fixture 33 - 3, found themselves leading 33 - 6 at the break.
If the home fans were expecting their team to press home their advantage in the second half, they would have been shocked to see the visitors make the brighter start. From halfway, replacement prop Gerlando Marino showed great pace to break down the right touchline. The ball went through the hands and Bocchino put in a beautiful grubber kick that he regathered. The Dragons managed to get the ball clear, but centre Clemens von Grumblow beat two defenders in running the ball back and put wing Niccolo Tempestini over on the right.
The Dragons reacted well to the try, and full back Martyn Thomas came more and more into the game. He was unfortunate not to score a try, stepping inside one defender and outstripping another four for pace only to lose the ball in the tackle metres from the line. But the visitors were now playing some good rugby of their own, Bocchino dummying and putting von Grumblow clear only for his pass to be deemed forward by referee Andrew McMenemy. It was not just in attack that Cavalieri had improved; Tuilagi was seeing just as much ball as he had in the first half, but the Italians had now learnt not to go too high in the tackle. In the scrums, Cavalieri were getting on top.
The Dragons had gone almost 30 minutes without adding to their half-time score when Huw Gustafson found himself clean through from a Jason Tovey pass, but either the replacement prop failed to see the two supporting runners or he chose to ignore them. But the groans of frustration from the crowd became a roar of near-relief when Aled Brew, finding himself at scrum half, put in a kick and Martyn Thomas dropped on to the ball for a deserved try, the score 38 - 11 after Tovey's conversion.
If the result of the match remained in any doubt, that doubt was removed when Cavalieri made a hash of a scissors move in the Dragons' half and replacement centre Lewis Robling gathered the bobbling ball. Robling handed off Berryman and beat the last covering defender to cross in the left-hand corner.
The last word, however, went to the visitors, who ended a much-improved second-half display with their second try. Replacement Pino Patelli kicked through, there was no one at home for the Dragons and lively replacement wing Billy Ngawini dotted down, making the final score Newport Gwent Dragons 45, Cavalieri Prato 16.
So the Dragons' European campaign, which had seen them top their pool after a good win over Perpignan, ended with a victory that showed both sides of their character this season: a willingness to run the ball, often with the skill to match their ambition; but also lapses in concentration which have seen them lose more games than they have won. Nevertheless, a seven-try bonus-point win is no mean achievement in European competition and it could be just the fillip they need as they seek to climb the Pro 12 table.
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Newport-Gwent Dragons:
M Thomas, Harries, Hughes, Tuilagi, Brew; Tovey, Bedford; Price, Buckley, Way, A Jones, Sidoli, Lydiate, L Evans, Faletau.
Replacements: Parry for Lydiate (16), Gustafson for A Jones (40), J Evans for Bedford (58), Robling for Brew (66), S Jones for Buckley (66), Buck for Way (66).
Cavalieri Prato:
Berryman (sinbinned 26-36), Lunardi, Von Grumbkow, Chiesa, Tempestini; Bocchino, Di Vignale; De Gregori, Lupetti, Ryan, Kolo'ofai, Cazzola, Petillo, Damiani, Nifo-Tautua.
Replacements: Patelli for Di Vignale (40),Bernini for Lupetti (40), Giovachelli for Cazzola (40), Ngwaini for Lunardi (45), Marino for De Gregori (55), Belardo for Tempestini (58), Vezzosi for Damiani (58)
To discuss this article and see what other members think, visit the 606v2 forum