By Iestyn Thomas
The Dragons claimed the first derby bragging rights of the URC season with a victory over the Ospreys at Rodney Parade.
A last-gasp try from Luke Yendle which was followed by a conversion from Lloyd Evans sealed a dramatic victory after they trailed 21-16 in the final moments.
Toby Booth’s side thought they claimed victory through tries from Keiran Williams and Ryan Conbeer, with Dan Edwards kicking 11 points.
It was the hosts who opened the scoring in the second minute through the boot of fly-half Lloyd Evans after the Ospreys were penalised for offside.
The visitors responded with a Dan Edwards penalty to level the scores after nine minutes.
The away side scored the first try of the contest after wing Luke Morgan burst through the home side’s defence before offloading to centre Keiran Williams who scored, fly-half Edwards added the conversion.
Outside-half Lloyd kicked a second penalty to narrow the scores, before openside flanker Ollie Griffiths crossed after an offload from Matthew Screech, Lloyd’s conversion giving the hosts the lead after 30 minutes.
Lloyd and Edwards traded penalties before the Ospreys fly-half kicked his third of the afternoon to give his side a 16-13 lead at the interval.
https://x.com/Iestyn_thomas21/status/1837492178802655527
The Ospreys flew out of the blocks in the second half with fullback Jack Walsh heavily involved has he created two line breaks, the second resulting in the visitors second try of the match as wing Conbeer ran in to score.
Wales prop Leon Brown had an hour on the field before being substituted on his first competitive appearance since featuring for Wales in the Six Nations earlier this year.
Dragons’ replacement James Benjamin was shown a yellow card in the 69th minute following a side entry offence at a rolling maul.
The visitors had a lineout deep into the 22 but they failed to capitalise as they gave away a free kick.
There was a chance for the hosts, with Angus O’Brien’s Crossfield kicking narrowly missing wing Rio Dyer, they headed back to a penalty but the following lineout was overthrown, capping a seemingly frustrating afternoon for Dai Flanagan’s side.
But, a small glimmer of hope appeared as Evans kicked a penalty to close the gap to within seven points with less than three minutes to play.
Before a tense ending with the hosts pilling on the pressure in the Ospreys half, before replacement Yendle powered over from short range under the bar, leaving a simple conversion for his fly-half to seal the victory.
A trip to Dublin to face Leinster is in store for the Dragons in round two, whilst Toby Booth’s side will hope for a first victory of the season at home to the Stormers.