Dragons breathing fire again, and AWJ calls time
IT was a mixed weekend in Welsh rugby, with one region recording a historic win while others were left frustrated or licking their wounds after more poor results.
Here’s the winners and losers from this weekend’s action...
THE Welsh pair were both outstanding as Exeter Chiefs snatched a dramatic late win against Gloucester on Sunday, with the exiled Hawkins leaving Wales fans rueing the fact he is now ineligible for Warren Gatland’s squad after putting in a man of the match performance.
Chiefs skipper Jenkins got his first Premiership try as he galloped over the line to score just after the halfhour mark, with Hawkins playing a key role in the build up.
And the centre - who had been backed in midweek by coach Rob Baxter after a dificult first start against Northampton - repaid his faith with a phenomenal showing in midfield, with his straight running causing Gloucester problems all evening.
Hawkins even had a part to play in the game-winning score, as he held the ball down on the tee for Slade to convert with the last kick of the game and hand his side a dramatic 25-24 victory.
His performance had many fans on social media urging the WRU to find a way to make him eligible for the national team despite falling under the 25-cap threshold.
Louis Rees-Zammit
HE may have ended up on the losing side at Sandy Park but the Welsh flyer showed a real moment of class during his Gloucester side’s defeat to Exeter.
Brought into the lineup as a replacement for the cited Jonny May, ReesZammit must have thought he had put the Cherries on course for victory with a really well-taken try with less than 15 minutes to go.
A blindside pass saw the wing take the ball with his back to the Chiefs defence, but a lightning quick spin saw him evade Stu Townsend, turn on the gas and then turn it swiftly off again, as two Exeter players were sent to the shops as he touched down with ease.
It was a trademark finish from the 22-year-old, who had also set up Jack Clement to score before half-time, and perhaps one that was worthy of a win.
It also marked a big weekend for the youngster, who has reportedly been lined up by both Bordeaux and Montpellier for a mega-money move to the Top 14.
Rio Dyer and the Dragons
BOY, was that needed. After 385 days without a win at home, the Dragons finally broke their brutal run of form with a 20-5 victory over 14-man Ospreys to finally give those at Rodney Parade something to cheer about.
Despite conceding first, Dai Flanagan’s team clawed their way back into the contest and, a man up after Mat
Protheroe’s dismissal, started to turn it on with the boot of Cai Evans giving them the lead before Bradley Roberts scored a fine solo try and Rio Dyer broke his 11-match try drought with quarter of an hour left.
Dyer was one of the standout performers in a monumental win for Flanagan’s men with his electric feet proving a constant worry for the Ospreys.
With Warren Gatland, who is known to be a huge admirer, watching in the stands, the wing won’t have done his chances of being awarded a starting spot at the Six Nations any harm with his performance. Right now, many would back him to start ahead of Josh Adams.
Alun Wyn Jones
WHAT a man, what a career. The veteran lock played his final match as a professional rugby player on Saturday as he captained Toulon in their 30-27 win over Clermont, after almost two decades at the top of the game.
The 38-year-old was quite rightly given a rapturous standing ovation as he left the pitch with less than 15 minutes to go, before heading down the tunnel and into the dressing room for the final time.
After the full time whistle sounded, he posted a poignant message on his Instagram alongside a photo of his boots and Toulon jersey and Swansea RFC tie hanging on his peg.
“As a boy I dreamed of playing the game I love professionally, I lived that dream and today was my last,” he wrote.
“ASM 27 v RCT 30. Thank you. Merci. Diolch. P.s. Dad you were here for it all!!!”
It was a beautiful way to bring the curtain down on a magical career that saw him represent Wales 158 times and turn out for the Ospreys for 17 years. Thank you, AWJ.
LOSERS Ospreys wings
THE Dragons deserved their win in the Welsh derby match but the Ospreys did themselves no favours at Rodney Parade with poor discipline proving to be their undoing.
Their two starting wings were arguably the worst offenders with Mat Protheroe - who had grabbed his side’s only points of the game after six minutes - clattering into Will Reed just before the half-hour mark.
It was a sickening clash of heads and a clumsy, dangerous tackle by the 27-year-old, who was shown a red card in a big blow to his side.
With the Ospreys then up against it, a moment of stupidity from Luke Morgan in the second half made things worse.
A needless tip tackle on Rio Dyer saw the other wing issued with a yellow card, with the Dragons flyer then scoring by bursting through the gap Morgan had left behind.
Factor in a painful injury to skipper Justin Tipuric and it was a pretty bad day at the office for Toby Booth’s men, who will be looking to turn it around against the Scarlets this weekend.
Dan Baugh
A rare and unwanted incident could have landed the Dragons’ head of performance Dan Baugh in hot water.
After the visitors to Rodney Parade had lost the aforementioned Protheroe to a red card with Reed receiving treatment, former Canadian international Baugh - who had running water on to the pitch throughout the first half - was overheard airing his feelings about the matter by referee Ben Whitehouse as the official decided the wing’s fate.
Confronting him, Whitehouse told Baugh: “If you ever shout at me like that again, you will be in the stand,” with the coach responding that he was talking to his own players.
However, his poor decision to put his hand on Whitehouse’s arm as he turned away prompted a furious reaction from the shocked official, who told him: “Don’t touch me,” before banishing from the field.
On the face of it, it may have seemed relatively minor, but moves to potentially intimidate officials have no place in the game and Baugh could now face a ban.
Cardiff
PERHAPS a bit harsh to label them as one of this weekend’s losers, but Matt Sherratt’s side will feel incredibly disappointed to have only come away from their clash against Zebre with a draw.
Their Italian opponents came into the game buoyed by ending their miserable 28-game losing run with a monumental win over the Sharks last weekend and certainly tested Cardiff throughout the match.
But Sherratt’s side - who scored tries through Ben Thomas, Lopeti Tomani and Mason Grady - were mainly let down by their poor discipline and handling errors as they failed to make a man advantage count after Zebre scrum-half Alessandro Fusco was yellow carded.
That let the Italians back into the game and a tired Cardiff defence ultimately gave in five minutes into second-half stoppage time as replacement Leonard Krumov bundled over before Geronimo Prisciantelli secured the draw with a coolly taken conversion
In fact, the visitors were fortunate not to lose, with Zebre throwing away a potential 11 points from the tee over the course of the night.