The long wait for a win in the BKT United Rugby Championship continues for the Dragons after they drew 17-17 with the Sharks at a wind and rain lashed Rodney Parade.
The 5,000 fans who turned out in filthy conditions saw their side end an 18-match losing streak that had run for 54 weeks - but head coach Filo Tiatia admitted it could have been so much more.
“It was there for the taking for both sides,” said Tiatia.
“We weren’t great at times during the game, kick-offs and our discipline let us down in the first half and when you concede nine penalties in the first half you’re going to be under pressure.
“But when we got in the right areas of the field, we applied pressure and we scored points.
“I felt for the boys who showed a lot of grit and character, playing the last six or seven minutes with 14 players.
“We came pretty close, maybe a metre away from the try line and it could have been a different story, but that’s footy.
“We’ve got to take the opportunities when we have them and that was one. There were many more that we had and didn’t take.”
At the end, Angus O’Brien got to within a few inches of the Sharks line after the Dragons pack had battered their way through 20 phases in search of the winning score.
They went left, right and back again more than once.
But the fact they got to within five metres of the Sharks posts at one stage and didn’t even consider going for the win via a point blank range drop goal was baffling to many.
Man of the Match Rhodri Williams kept feeding his forwards and ignored Tinus de Beer standing back in the pocket waiting for his chance to shoot for glory.
Having levelled things up at 17-17 in the 64th minute with a De Beer penalty it was all there for the home side to march to victory with the elements at their back.
They dominated possession and territory, but had a torrid time at the scrum.
READ MORE: Mackenzie Martin Believes Dragons Can Find Room for Both Him and Aaron Wainwright
Italian referee Stefano Roscini awarded 15 penalties against the home side compared to eight against the Sharks, with the majority of them coming at scrum time.
Then, in the 72nd minute, new Wales tight head prop Chris Coleman was shown a yellow card for the latest scrum collapse.
To make matters even worse, back to back penalties allowed the Sharks to kick into the right corner and launch their own bid for glory from a driving line-up.
They got up to a metre out before conceding a stupid penalty of their own.
Back came the Dragons and the frenzied efforts in the dying minutes probably deserved more than they got.
But on this evidence, a much needed win is surely only around the corner.
Coming into their first home game of the season after losing to Ulster in Belfast in Round 1, the Dragons made a sloppy start.
The Sharks drew first blood when they kicked a penalty to the corner and took the lead after only eight minutes with a try from second row Marvin Orie which Jean Smith converted.
The response for the home side was almost immediate with new Tongan centre Fetuli Paea making the burst then led to Aaron Wainwright scoring.
De Beer added the extras, but a Smith penalty midway through the first half restored the Sharks’ lead.
It was another break from Paea that paved the way for the Dragons’ second try when he sent in full back Angus O’Brien and De Beer’s conversion made it 14-10.
But the Sharks got their noses back in front on the stroke of half-time when their captain Emmanuel Tshituka got over for a try that Smith converted.
The Draogns thought they had hit the front again four minutes after the break when Rio Dyer latched onto a cross kick to score, but the TMO spotted a knock-on in an earlier breakdown phase and the try was ruled out.
Then came De Beer’s equalising penalty and all the late drama before everyone went home dreaming of what might have been.
