Newport Gwent Dragons 26-16 Ulster – Rodney Parade, Sunday 22nd February 2009. Magners League.
Report: Mark Denham
The Dragons started much the brighter side on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Rodney Parade; their cause was aided somewhat by an early yellow card shown to Ulster prop Tom Court for impeding a quick penalty. With the Irish side down to fourteen men, the Dragons capitalised after six minutes when full back Jason Tovey crossed the line following some neat back line play. Shaun Connor missed the following conversion, though Paul Turner’s men looked comfortable in the opening exchanges.
Ian Humphreys clawed three points back for the visitors with a fiercely struck penalty kick, though there was little action of note for the fifteen minutes that followed. Dragons wing Richard Fussell did look particularly sharp when play broke up, the nippy winger consistently finding gaps in a somewhat suspect Ulster midfield.
Against the run of play, it was Ulster who took the lead after the Dragons failed to deal with a bouncing ball. Scot Simon Danielli was the man who grounded the ball under the posts, giving fly-half Humphreys the easiest of conversions to take the score to 10-5. The score seemed to wake the visitors up a bit, Isaac Boss, Clinton Schifcofske and Darren Cave looking particularly good for the Ulstermen as they started to string together some good attacking phases. The Dragons defence held superbly well despite persistent pressure, keeping the score at 10-5 going in to the interval and leaving the game finely poised.
Half Time: Dragons 5-10 Ulster
The second half started in much the same vain as the first ended, the Dragons though appearing to have better direction and drive. Shaun Connor’s early penalty attempt drifted wide of the uprights, though the Dragons camped inside the Ulster twenty-two for the early part of the half.
Connor did succeed with a penalty kick on fifty-two minutes to bring the Dragons within two points, the cheer from the crowd equal to that given to the returning Kevin Morgan after a seven-month injury absence. However, Rhys Thomas’ sin-binning minutes later allowed Schifcofske to stretch Ulster’s lead to five points again in what was becoming a very tight game of little chances. Former Rugby-League man Schifcofske kicked a further three points for Ulster on the hour mark, though failure to roll away from the ruck gave Jason Tovey the chance to convert a Dragons kick to which he duly obliged.
With Tovey operating at fly half for the departed Connor, the Dragons began to find better field position as the game progressed. A sublime kick to the corner by the Wales U20 star led to a five-minute period of forward dominance that eventually led to the try that tied the score. Tovey was the beneficiary after the Ulster defence was finally broken down, though the youngster couldn’t convert his second try from the hardest of angles.
Tovey won the game for the Dragons in the final minutes, kicking a penalty before crossing the line for a second time and then converting to put the game out of reach. In a standout performance for the men of Gwent, Tovey’s calmness and angled running ultimately made the difference.
Following the game, Dragons coach Paul Turner said that he was concerned Ulster would take points from a game they perhaps didn’t deserve.
"It only looked like there was one winner out there, but we seemed to lack composure at key times and they looked like getting a smash and grab" said Paul.
Fortunately, the combination of superb forward play and Tovey’s twenty-one point haul were enough to keep the Dragons above their Irish rivals in the Magners League in seventh place.
Full Time: Dragons 26-16 Ulster
Report: Mark Denham
The Dragons started much the brighter side on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Rodney Parade; their cause was aided somewhat by an early yellow card shown to Ulster prop Tom Court for impeding a quick penalty. With the Irish side down to fourteen men, the Dragons capitalised after six minutes when full back Jason Tovey crossed the line following some neat back line play. Shaun Connor missed the following conversion, though Paul Turner’s men looked comfortable in the opening exchanges.
Ian Humphreys clawed three points back for the visitors with a fiercely struck penalty kick, though there was little action of note for the fifteen minutes that followed. Dragons wing Richard Fussell did look particularly sharp when play broke up, the nippy winger consistently finding gaps in a somewhat suspect Ulster midfield.
Against the run of play, it was Ulster who took the lead after the Dragons failed to deal with a bouncing ball. Scot Simon Danielli was the man who grounded the ball under the posts, giving fly-half Humphreys the easiest of conversions to take the score to 10-5. The score seemed to wake the visitors up a bit, Isaac Boss, Clinton Schifcofske and Darren Cave looking particularly good for the Ulstermen as they started to string together some good attacking phases. The Dragons defence held superbly well despite persistent pressure, keeping the score at 10-5 going in to the interval and leaving the game finely poised.
Half Time: Dragons 5-10 Ulster
The second half started in much the same vain as the first ended, the Dragons though appearing to have better direction and drive. Shaun Connor’s early penalty attempt drifted wide of the uprights, though the Dragons camped inside the Ulster twenty-two for the early part of the half.
Connor did succeed with a penalty kick on fifty-two minutes to bring the Dragons within two points, the cheer from the crowd equal to that given to the returning Kevin Morgan after a seven-month injury absence. However, Rhys Thomas’ sin-binning minutes later allowed Schifcofske to stretch Ulster’s lead to five points again in what was becoming a very tight game of little chances. Former Rugby-League man Schifcofske kicked a further three points for Ulster on the hour mark, though failure to roll away from the ruck gave Jason Tovey the chance to convert a Dragons kick to which he duly obliged.
With Tovey operating at fly half for the departed Connor, the Dragons began to find better field position as the game progressed. A sublime kick to the corner by the Wales U20 star led to a five-minute period of forward dominance that eventually led to the try that tied the score. Tovey was the beneficiary after the Ulster defence was finally broken down, though the youngster couldn’t convert his second try from the hardest of angles.
Tovey won the game for the Dragons in the final minutes, kicking a penalty before crossing the line for a second time and then converting to put the game out of reach. In a standout performance for the men of Gwent, Tovey’s calmness and angled running ultimately made the difference.
Following the game, Dragons coach Paul Turner said that he was concerned Ulster would take points from a game they perhaps didn’t deserve.
"It only looked like there was one winner out there, but we seemed to lack composure at key times and they looked like getting a smash and grab" said Paul.
Fortunately, the combination of superb forward play and Tovey’s twenty-one point haul were enough to keep the Dragons above their Irish rivals in the Magners League in seventh place.
Full Time: Dragons 26-16 Ulster
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