THE Dragons suffered a 52-10 loss to Guinness PRO14 champions Leinster at the Royal Dublin Society. Here are the talking points from the seven-try loss in the Irish capital…
Resilience
It appears daft to be talking about Dragons resilience in a 52-10 hammering, yet the Rodney Parade region were actually quite plucky in defeat.
They were 10-0 down as the clock went into the red in the first half but Ross Moriarty’s yellow card proved to be costly.
The region showed pluckiness in defence and openside Nic Cudd got through a mountain of work.
At least they won’t face a side as incredible as Leinster for the rest of the season.
Harsh yellow
It was a daft moment by Moriarty, yet a sin bin seemed harsh.
The number eight saw red with Wales in June after being hit with a cheap shot in Argentina and this time it was him dishing one out.
Moriarty hit his fellow 2017 Lions tourist Jonathan Sexton with a shoulder barge and it was costly.
The Dragons were 10-0 down at the time and it allowed Leinster to cross for their second and push away after the resumption.
The shoulder barge in the back was a penalty offence but a sin bin, after the TMO got involved, seemed harsh.
“There wasn’t much in it,” said head coach Bernard Jackman. “For me, look at some of the clean-outs and tackles and there is much more chance of getting injured there.
“Johnny runs that line really well, he passes and keeps going to cut out the inside defender. There wasn’t much in it but I understand why the ref wanted to pick up on it and give a yellow.
“It was unnecessary for us and Ross has apologised for it; there’s a fine line between being physical and not taking a backwards step and what happened there.”
Handling errors
They were plentiful in the narrow loss to Benetton and win against the Southern Kings but the Dragons were pretty good with ball in hand against Leinster.
There was the occasional slip but Jackman’s side kept handling errors to a minimum, and that needs to continue against Zebre.
Jinking Jordan
Finally, the consolation score by Jordan Williams was wonderful, a try that had the seal of approval from the RDS.
It was a sensational break by the summer signing from Bristol and one imagines that the full-back will add a number more try of the season contenders.
I still think that he should be wing with Hallam Amos full-back but the Wales international’s dislocated shoulder means that Jared Rosser will return on the flank.
In the meantime, Williams will keep dazzling from 15 with the fast feet that made him a favourite in the west country. Wales contender? Not quite just yet but he offers something different.
Yesterday's effort is not try of the season yet because one imagines the speedster will have plenty more contenders in the weeks and months to come.
Williams and Ashton Hewitt in the same XV could lead to oppositon defences needing a lie down in a dark room.
🏉| What a moment of magic this was from Jordan Williams 🔥
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) September 15, 2018
Step after step after step, and he's fooled them all👀#GuinnessPRO14 pic.twitter.com/QSq3zWG9VC
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