FULL-TIME! DRAGONS 31-33 SHARKS. Magnificent effort from the Sharks to stay the course, and possibly vindication against the Dragons decision to add three points with the boot rather than push for eight when they had a man advantage. The Sharks remain unbeaten against the Dragons… but what a magnificent match from both sides. Hope you enjoyed following the action with us and enjoy the rest of your sporting weekend.
CONVERSION, SHARKS, MASUKU! 31-33; Masuku adds the extra two points for a sensational win for the visitors.
TRY, SHARKS, MBATHA! 30-31; The Sharks pushed and pushed until the Dragons knocked on under their poles, but Fez Mbatha scooped it up and drove onto the line with four Dragons around him. TMO needed a few views… but TRY IT WAS, and what a way for the Sharks to claim the win!
Sharks press forward that final foot and they're just about on the line… forwards battering one after the other, Dragons blocking…
Sharks 5m from the line as the two mountains of men continue to collide through 10 phases…
Sharks runs the line, the forwards driving into the line with each pass…
The ball rolls into the scrum and it collapses. Scrum again… Dragons blown for a freekick… not allowed to scrum. Have to run it…
Sharks win the lineout and drives for the line… the Dragons look to break after an intercept, but the Sharks have a penalty advantage. They will scrum as the clock clicks over to RED…
Sharks throwing everything at the Dragons inside their half, and they win a penalty in the 22… Masuku kicks it to the lineout 7m from the line.
Dragons hold their scrum and Basham breaks from the back and runs the ball, the Sharks forcing them out for a lineout.
The Sharks drive for the line, the Dragons holding them up for all they are worth, but the Sharks keep pushing and pushing… seven phases and 2m from the line… but the ref penalises the Sharks and the crowd erupts.
Dragons blown and the Sharks will have a penalty inside the 22… they kick it into touch 7m from the Dragons line.
Dragons penalised for holding on the ground and the Sharks kick into the Dragons 22 for a lineout… they run the ball and it's into a maul… run it again and into the Dragons wall of defenders…
Massive error by Masuku… he drills a penalty from his 10m but it's too far and it's over the Dragons tryline… so the Dragons will have a scrum near the Sharks 10m. Small margins of error often, but that is a mistake that could cost them.
The ball runs out on the left wing and there's a medical break.
Sharks driving forward and into the Dragons 22… they're to the 5m… over to the tryline… it flies loose, the Dragons clear upfield but the Sharks run back at them…
Sharks have the scrum, they run it left, drawing their men… but the Dragons are blown… and then the handbags and scarves start flying… and the consensus is the Sharks won that little fracaaaah.
Evans launches a high ball and goes to ground after colliding with Venter's back. The Welsh commentators are convinced it was a penalty… South Africans not so much. But perhaps history reveals the truth, Reed misses his kick from almost in front of the poles by the 10m. There is a wee bit of breeze though to add to the difficulty.
PENALTY, DRAGONS, REED! 30-26; Reed's kick looks shaky but it holds its path and slides inside the left upright for three points. Was that the best use of a penalty when they have a man advantage? History will tell us!
Sharks pushed forward but Rosser stole the ball and kicked deep… the Sharks do their best to defend but are penalised on the 22m about 15m in from touch… and they're going to kick!
Evans pulls his conversion from the left side way to the left of the poles… a nasty hook that was. He was maybe 10-15 m to the left of the poles and would have expected to nail a kick like that.
TRY, DRAGONS, CARTER! 27-26; Sharks drive the Dragons sideway to the posts, but they can't keep them out forever, as Carter crashes over for a try close to the poles.
Dragons win their line and they maul with power and press through to the 5m line and beyond… Sharks holding them up with everything they have… Dragons pressing…
Dragons press back hard and win a penalty on the halfway line for a linebreak and intercept… but Jenkins gets the bin for the handling error.
CONVERSION, SHARKS, MASUKU! 22-26; Masuku curls the PERFECT kick… he starts it a metre or two outside the far upright… and the breeze and the curve of his foot bring it back and it's high and it's handsome and it's OVER the posts!!! Smashing kick. Sharks with the four point lead now.
TRY, SHARKS, HOOKER! 22-24; Sharks run the ball and it's chipped to the corner where Hooker sprints it down, the bounce is perfect and he grabs it and falls over in the corner… easy as you like for the Sharks now!
CONVERSION, SHARKS, MASUKU! 22-19; Lovely kick from about 10m in from touch. Three points in it!
TRY, SHARKS, JULIUS! 22-17; Such a tight call but in the end it's clearly in his possession as he throws it down on the line. Incredible touch from Julius as well.
Sharks to feed the scrum in front of the poles… they run left and are brought to ground, run right, push for the line… Julius dives for the line… but does he dot it or throw it done… tough call for TMO.
The Sharks run the ball and the Dragons are penalised, so the Sharks have possession still… and the time is off for an injury break.
Dragons with a lineout on their 10m… they run it but are blown for infringing on the ground… the ref gives them 10m to 5m short of the 22m… but the kick to touch is 12m from the tryline, which is a bit of a waste…
KICK-OFF! We're underway with the second half.
HALF-TIME! DRAGONS 22-12 SHARKS. Absolutely breathless first half… but what a comeback from the Sharks, especially after conceding half a dozen penalties in the first 15 minutes. What does the second half have in store for us?
CONVERSION, SHARKS, MASUKU! 22-12; No problem from straight in front of poles.
TRY, SHARKS, HENDRIKSE! 22-10; Incredible, the Sharks literally ran back at the Dragons from the kick-off, ran the lie to the left wing… Ethan Hooker drew his man and passed to Andre Esterhuizen… who did the same but passed back inside to Hooker… he raced forward and then flicked the ball to Hendrikse who skipped through to complete the try. What a strike back - just what the Sharks needed before half-time… and NOT what the Dragons would want!
CONVERSION, DRAGONS, EVANS! 22-5; Right under the posts… easy as drinking a sludgie.
TRY, DRAGONS, WILLIAMS! 20-5; The Dragons win the lineout and spin the ball wide… they draw their man once, twice, three times… the ball goes out ot Jared Rosser who belts down the win, shrugs off a challenge from Tshituka, then draws a man and passes in to Williams… who sprints through and dives under the post for a smashing try (unless you're a Sharks supporter). Magnificent rugby.
Sharks push for all they are worth, but the ref blows them for wheeling the scrum, and their precious advantage is wasted. The Dragons hoof the ball up to the halfway line, where they will feed the lineout.
Sharks push for all they are worth, but the ref blows them for wheeling the scrum, and their precious advantage is wasted. The Dragons hoof the ball up to the halfway line, where they will feed the lineout.
Sharks win the ball back and press up again and into the Dragons 22… they're looking strong… but they are penalised and the Dragons will feed the scrum just 10m short of their line.
The Dragons press up but the Sharks are super strong on defence and don't allow them any wiggle room.
Sharks look to strike back, driving hard into the Dragons half and into the 22… but this time they are held up short of the line. Dragons finally manage to clear the danger.
Conversion is ALSO missed… but this one was from about 8 metres in from the right touchline, so not the easiest.
TRY, DRAGONS, BROWN! 15-5; Superb backline move from the Dragons stretches the Sharks wide, then they pull back inside, and are brought to ground just short of the line… Brown picks up at the base and digs through the mass of players and over for the score.
Dragons pouring forward at the Sharks and into the Sharks 22…
MISSED! Siya Masuku scrapes his kick wide of the post… he won't be happy to have missed that one.
TRY, SHARKS, TSHITUKA! 10-5; Vincent Tshituka powers over the line, his brother helping to power him over for the score.
Venter is called back on after his time on the naughty chair, and the Sharks run the penalty, pressing forward well and driving towards the line…
The Sharks now find their feet and pour pressure on the Dragons, pushing up powerfully into their 22 and driving close to the line… and there's a penalty for the Sharks just short of the 5m and a bit wide of the posts. Ethan Hooker has a had a great run down the left wing in the build up to that penalty.
CONVERSION, DRAGONS, EVANS! 10-0; No problem from next to the right post.
TRY, DRAGONS, BASHAM! 8-0; The Sharks unable to hold the pressure up, and Basham picks up from behind the maul and dives over for the first try of the match… and it looks like there might be plenty to follow!
Dragons driving hard on the Sharks, pressing them back deep in their 22 right to their 5m line…
PENALTY, DRAGONS, EVANS! 3-0; Evans opens the scoring with the boot.
Sharks penalised and the Dragons will kick for poles
Dragons with the early pressure on the Sharks
Rhodri Williams gets the ball at the base and sends a long, raking kick to 10m short of the Sharks line for a Sharks throw. Great work from the scrummie.
Sharks to superbly to clear the ball, clawing the misheld throwin and kicking to touch near the 10m.
Sharks again with poor discipline in the loose, gifting a penalty which is kicked to touch for a lineout near the 5m.
YELLOW CARD, SHARKS, VENTER. For the shoulder to the head tackle.
OOOOH! That's a heavy tackle from the Sharks on Aneurin Owen… James Venter head straight on the shoulder. Definite yellow card. Not a high level of danger.
KICK-OFF! We're underway here in Newport… it's the Dragons up against the Sharks!
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland). Assistant referees: Ben Connor (Wales); Nathan James (Wales). TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland).
Sharks: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Manu Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka (captain), 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Phendulani Buthelezi, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Francois Venter.
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Harry Wilson, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Dan Lydiate, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Ben Carter (captain), 3 Leon Brown, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rhodri Jones. Replacements: 16 Oli Burrows, 17 Rodrigo Martinez, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Joe Davies, 20 Ryan Woodman, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Will Reed, 23 Joe Westwood.
The Sharks have won their last five matches against the Dragons and look good to make it six in a row here this afternoon.
The Dragons are in 11th place after two matches, with a win and a loss to their credit. The Sharks are second from bottom in 15th place, but they have played just one match, which they lost.
Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the United Rugby Championship match between the Dragons and the Sharks, live from Rodney Parade in Newport.