Russia – then coached by Kingsley Jones - were the opposition in pre-season in August 2011 as Dragons ran out comfortably 40-12 winners at Rodney Parade.
On a warm summer evening in front of a crowd of 2,565, centre Ashley Smith opened the scoring when he finished off a spectacular backs move, with Jason Tovey’s conversion attempt rebounding off an upright.
Russia thwarted Dragons in attack for much of the first half before the home side – themselves devoid of any international players - clicked again when new scrum half Joe Bedford celebrated his debut with a try after good approach work by Steffan Jones and Gavin Thomas.
The visitors went close through scrum half Andrey Bykanov before flanker Kirill Kushnarev hit back when he burrowed across and Konstantin Rachkov converted.
However, when Russian second row Alexander Voytov was yellow carded, the Dragons took advantage as Tovey sent out a long pass to put Jones over in the corner for a 19-7 lead at the break.
The Russians hit back with the best try of the game after the interval, wing Denis Simlikevich breaking away and evading a number of tackles before fellow wing Igor Klyuchnikov crossed in the right corner.
Adam Hughes quickly sped across for a try in the corner, converted by Matthew Jones, before tries from Mike Poole and Rhys Buckley sent the home side clear.
Dragons:S Jones, M Pewtner, T Riley, A Smith, M Poole, J Tovey, J Bedford, P Price, T Willis B Castle, A Jones, S Morgan, J Groves, T Brown, G Thomas.
Replacements:A Coundley, R Buckley, D Way, A Coombs, H Ellis, W Evans, M Jones, P Leach, A Hughes, M Thomas.
Russia:Y Kushnarev, I Klyuchnikov, S Trishnin, I Galinaovsky, D Simplikevich, K Rachkov, A Bykanov, V Botvinnikov, V Tsnobiladze, A Khrokin, A Voytov, D Antonov, K Kushnarev, V Grachev, A Garbuzov.
Tickets to Dragons versus Russia are available NOW!
Season Members can enjoy a ticket discount for this match with adult entry priced at £10 in advance, £15 on the day. A valid season ticket will be required at the time of purchase.All other tickets in advance are priced £12 adults and £5 under 16s, with on the day prices for all adults £15. All tickets are unreserved, with limited seating available at the venue, available on a first come, first served basis.
Click HERE to buy online.
For more information visit the Ticket Office at Dragons or call 01633 674990.
