Dragons run in nine tries against Romanians

DRAGONS ........................... 59 TIMISOARA SARACENS .... 3

WALES hopeful Hallam Amos scored a brace as the Dragons ran in nine tries past Romanian outfit Timisoara Saracens in their European Challenge Cup pool match at Rodney Parade.

Braces from Hallam Amos, Will Talbot-Davies and Rhodri Davies, plus further tries from Matthew Screech, Jordan Williams and Ben Fry set the region on their way to a convincing victory over the Romanians.

Despite the fixture being a dead rubber with neither side able to qualify for the quarterfinals, there were plenty of positives in the 59-3 victory - with the return of Ollie Griffiths and Gavin Henson being just one.

The form of Amos - and the fact he got through unscathed - will have pleased Warren Gatland just as much as his region with the Six Nations squad being announced on Tuesday.

A slow start by the region saw Timisoara strike first with an early penalty from Luke Samoa after the Dragons were pushed about at a scrum after just two minutes.

Once the Dragons eventually held onto possession for more than a few fleeting moments, their superiority began to show.

Hallam Amos breezed around the visiting defence with ease to cross for the Dragons’ opening try on 12 minutes.

That second score did come just after the half-hour mark, as Amos dotted down in the corner after Jarryd Sage had been dragged down just short following James Benjamin’s break.

With Timisoara visibly tiring even in the first-half, the Dragons crossed for their third score on the brink of half-time, with Talbot-Davies doing well to pick up Jordan Williams’ low pass for a simple run-in.

It took just 39 seconds for the Dragons to score their first try of the second-half, with Amos and Williams combining to put Davies under the sticks.

The Dragons crossed for a fifth just before the hour mark, with Screech forcing his way over after a flowing move had been stopped short.

Their sixth came just minutes later, Talbot-Davies stepping inside the full-back for an easy run-in.

A late flurry of tries capped off the match in the final ten minutes, with Williams, Fry and then Davies going over in the space of three minutes.

DRAGONS: Tries:

H. Amos (2), W. Talbot-Davies (2), R. Davies (2), M. Screech, J. Williams, B. Fry; J. Tovey (7).

TIMISOARA: Pens: Cons:

L.Samoa