by Ethan Harris
THE Dragons completed a second-half rout of Glasgow Warriors thanks to tries from Ashton Hewitt and Taine Basham.
A game riddled with errors in adverse conditions made for some exciting rugby, albeit calamitous on occasion as Glasgow grabbed a consolation try from Huw Jones late on.
And despite a second period of slick action, the first was far less enthralling.
Two penalties meant six points for the home side, and Sam Davies’ boot made no mistake when given the opportunity.
Glasgow found no reply during the first 40 minutes as the Dragons went into the break with just a 6-0 advantage, which should have been considerably more given their field position for most of the half.
It didn’t take the home side long to find their clinical ability, as almost straight from the restart Taine Basham crashed over the line for the first try of the game.
Ashton Hewitt broke through the defensive ranks after collecting an inside pass from Rhodri Williams, with Glasgow recovering just in time to catch the winger short of the line.
The Dragons wouldn’t be denied for long, as a quick recycle of the ball meant Basham was free to grab the first try of the game, with Davies continuing his kicking exploits from the first period to slot the conversion home.
Their second of the game would come only moments later.
Ollie Griffiths’ was on hand to charge down a clearance, setting Davies off to chase as the home side appeared certain to score.
The ball bobbled heavily in the poor weather conditions, and a kick forward from Davies spiralled out of control towards the left-side of the field.
It appeared that Glasgow had recovered, but the tightest of margins saw the defence narrowly miss the ball, and Hewitt was on hand to get the crucial touch along with the second try of the afternoon that went unconverted.
Glasgow grabbed their only consolation points of the game in a last minute push in what was a poor outing for the Scottish side.
The Dragons fail to clear their lines and Huw Jones was on hand to barrel over the line, going unconverted to leave the final score standing at 18-5.
A strong Dragons outing will please head coach Dean Ryan, as the home side put in a strong performance against their Conference A rivals.
It’s back to winning ways for the Newport outfit, whilst Glasgow return to Scotland after their second loss in a row.
Line-Ups:
Dragons XI:
- Brok Harris (Josh Reynolds, 75′), 2. Richard Hibbard (Rhys Lawrence, 78′), 3. Leon Brown (Lloyd Fairbrother, 60′), 4. Joe Davies, 5. Matthew Screech, 6. Huw Taylor, 7. Taine Basham (James Benjamin, 56′), 8. Ollie Griffiths, 9. Rhodri Williams (Luke Baldwin, 75′), 10. Sam Davies (Arwel Robson, 68′), 11. Ashton Hewitt, 12. Jack Dixon (Tyler Morgan, 75′), 13. Adam Warren, 14. Owen Jenkins, 15. Jordan Williams.
Replacements:
16. Rhys Lawrence, 17. Josh Reynolds, 18. Lloyd Fairbrother, 19. Max Williams, 20. James Benjamin, 21. Luke Baldwin, 22. Arwel Robson, 23. Tyler Morgan.
Glasgow Warriors XI:
1. Oli Kebble (Alex Allan, 68′), 2. Grant Stewart, 3. Adam Nicol (D’arcy Rae, 59), 4. Rob Harley, 5. Kiran McDonald, 6. Adam Ashe (Chris Fusaro, 6′), 7. Callum Gibbins, 8. Matt Fagerson (Andrew Davidson, 75′), 9. Nick Frisby (Jamie Dobie, 68′), 10.Brandon Thomson (Ruaridh Jackson, 52′), 11. Niko Matawalu, 12. Stafford McDowall (Huw Jones, 64), 13. Nick Grigg, 14. Kyle Steyn, 15. Glenn Bryce.
Replacements:
16. Johnny Matthews, 17. Alex Allan, 18. D’arcy Rae, 19. Andrew Davidson, 20. Chris Fusaro, 21. Jamie Dobie, 22. Huw Jones, 23. Ruaridh Jackson.
