Newport Gwent Dragons suffered a narrow loss at Kingston Park on the weekend as they lost to the Newcaslte Falcons in round two of the EDF Energy Cup.
The Dragons trailed 21-7 at half time but mounted a spirited second half fightback and nearly sneaked the game at the end. However, two sin binnings in the first half cost The Dragons and they have failed to win on the road in the EDF competition.
Toby Flood put his side ahead with a penalty in front of the posts before his reverse pass found centre Steve Jones who went over for the opening try. Flanker Joe Bearman was sent to the sin bin after failing to roll away and with a man advantage Brent Wilson went over for the try. The Dragons were then down to 13 when Andrew Hall was shown the yellow card for killing the ball.
On the stroke of half time, full back Martyn Thomas intercepted a pass and raced away for the converted try.
Three minutes into the second half and a cross kick from Flood found wing Ollie Phillips who went over for the try. However, the fighting spirit of The Dragons again came to the fore and Rhys Thomas scored a brace while Andy Williams also got on the score sheet. However, it wasn't enough and the Falcons held on for the win despite a final onslaught from the visitors.
Speaking after the game Paul Turner said, "I'm pleased in a way because we had an eye on the Perpignan match and we can take a lot of positives from the way we fought back. We're a tight group and we know we just can't afford to make errors like that."
Rhys Thomas said, "We've been looking to step up the intensity of our game heading into Europe adn the last two weeks against Wasps and Newcastle have been huge physical encounters. The forwards have really stood up to the mark. We've shown we can be as physical as any other side and that gives us great confidence going to France. All we have to do now is show a bit more composure, keep the ball more and stop giving teams headstarts because it's hard to chase the game."
The Dragons trailed 21-7 at half time but mounted a spirited second half fightback and nearly sneaked the game at the end. However, two sin binnings in the first half cost The Dragons and they have failed to win on the road in the EDF competition.
Toby Flood put his side ahead with a penalty in front of the posts before his reverse pass found centre Steve Jones who went over for the opening try. Flanker Joe Bearman was sent to the sin bin after failing to roll away and with a man advantage Brent Wilson went over for the try. The Dragons were then down to 13 when Andrew Hall was shown the yellow card for killing the ball.
On the stroke of half time, full back Martyn Thomas intercepted a pass and raced away for the converted try.
Three minutes into the second half and a cross kick from Flood found wing Ollie Phillips who went over for the try. However, the fighting spirit of The Dragons again came to the fore and Rhys Thomas scored a brace while Andy Williams also got on the score sheet. However, it wasn't enough and the Falcons held on for the win despite a final onslaught from the visitors.
Speaking after the game Paul Turner said, "I'm pleased in a way because we had an eye on the Perpignan match and we can take a lot of positives from the way we fought back. We're a tight group and we know we just can't afford to make errors like that."
Rhys Thomas said, "We've been looking to step up the intensity of our game heading into Europe adn the last two weeks against Wasps and Newcastle have been huge physical encounters. The forwards have really stood up to the mark. We've shown we can be as physical as any other side and that gives us great confidence going to France. All we have to do now is show a bit more composure, keep the ball more and stop giving teams headstarts because it's hard to chase the game."
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