Dragons fall short but rescue late bonus
THE Dragons were made to rue their wastefulness as they were beaten by a clinical Ulster side at the Principality Stadium.
Dean Ryan’s side huffed and puffed throughout but lacked the killer instinct which the visitors had in abundance.
This PRO14 clash was played at the unfamiliar surroundings of the Principality Stadium due to the atrocious state of the Rodney Parade pitch.
The Dragons retain a very slim chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions Cup, with the Newport-based club 12 points off third place Ospreys in Conference A.
The Dragons applied a lot of pressure on their visitors in the opening ten minutes, but it was Ulster who broke the deadlock. Ireland back-three star Jacob Stockdale took a high ball deep in his own half, before brushing aside a weak tackle from Rio Dyer.
Stockdale ran unopposed for 50 metres before drawing in the final defender which allowed him to put Alby Mathewson over for a try which Michael Lowry converted.
Ulster claimed their second try, with a lovely offload from Stuart McCloskey sending his centre partner Moore over.
The Dragons lay siege to the Ulster try line in the closing stages of the firsthalf. A tremendous pass from Wales legend Jamie Roberts sent Jonah Holmes through a gap but he was eventually brought down just metres short of the Ulster try line.
Ulster conceded 11 penalties in the first-half, with John Andrew sent to the sin bin as a result. The Dragons pounded the Ulster defence, and their driving lineout was held up over the line on two separate occasions.
But the visitors’ defence held firm as they turned around with a 14-3 lead at the break.
The Ulster players must have received a rocket from head coach Dan McFarland at half-time because they began the second half like men possessed. A clear break from Mathewson and a second one from Moore very nearly extended their lead.
After Moore’s break referee Adam Jones had no choice but to send Harrison Keddie to the sinbin as he cynically killed the ball at the breakdown. Ulster continued to apply the pressure as John Andrew powered his way over from short-range
after a well-worked driving lineout.
The Dragons got themselves back into the game and after a period of sustained pressure on the Ulster line Ollie Griffiths powered his way over from short range.
Ryan’s side now had their tails up but an interception try from smiling assassin Moore killed off the hosts’ chances and secured a try bonus point for the Irish province.
Nobody could question the effort of this Dragons side who kept coming back at Ulster who lost Nick Timoney to the sin bin after he illegally sacked a maul. And Rio Dyer claimed a consolation try at the far left-hand corner.
Ulster looked as if they were comfortably running down the clock in the Dragons 22 but an interception from Nick Tompkins, who offloaded to Holmes gave the Dragons a losing bonus point.