European Challenge Cup: Lions 31-31 Dragons - Late misses round off dramatic draw

Jordan Williams scored the first of Dragons' four tries

Dragons came agonisingly close to ending Welsh rugby's two-year wait for a win in Europe, eventually settling for a 31-31 draw at Lions.

Three times the Welsh region led in Johannesburg, the first European cup match to be played in South Africa.

Tries from Jordan Williams, Rhodri Williams, Sam Davies and Jack Dixon secured the draw and bonus point.

But Davies sliced a late drop goal before Lions' Jordan Hendrikse missed a penalty with the last kick of the game.

Twice Dragons thought they had won the European Challenge Cup tie late on, only for Sio Tomkinson to lose possession as he dived for the line and then Davies edged his kick wide.

But Ross Moriarty's indiscipline almost undid all their good work as the clock ticked into 80 minutes.

He conceded a penalty before a comment to English referee Anthony Woodthorpe saw the Dragons marched back a further 10 metres putting the penalty within range for Hendrikse, only for the long-range kick to fade to the right.

It was a dramatic climax to a thrilling tie that swung one way then the other, and three away points for Dragons is a strong return from South Africa, where Welsh regions have only once returned victorious.

Davies and Rhodri Williams were partnered together for the first time on this three-match tour and the pair marshalled Dragons to a surprise 24-17 lead at half-time.

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Dai Flanagan had already made nine changes but was forced into a late reshuffle with the loss of Ben Carter to an ankle injury. Matthew Screech filled the gap, prompting a call for Sean Lonsdale at flanker.

And Lonsdale made an immediate impact, carrying hard before Jordan Williams shrugged off the Lions' clutches for the opening try on 12 minutes.

Davies had already traded penalties with Giovani Lombard but his missed tackle allowed the Lions fly-half to cross and level the scores within three minutes.

Dragons were more than a physical match for their hosts. Moriarty carrying hard, though Bradley Roberts and Rhodri Jones were both fortunate to avoid yellow cards for borderline challenges.

However a series of home penalties allowed Dragons to again take the lead as Rhodri Williams scampered over from the back of a ruck after Roberts was stopped just short.

Lions lost Springbok prop Ruan Dreyer to an early injury but his replacement Asenathi Ntlabakanye barged over from close range on his debut, only for Dragons to take the lead a third time.

Rhodri Williams combined once more with Davies who leapt over the line Gridiron-style, before Harrison Keddie's try-line tackle saved the Dragons advantage on the stroke of half-time.

Nail-biting climax

However it took just eight minutes, a raft of home changes and the finishing of Edwill van der Merwe for the Lions to not only level, but take the lead.

Wing van der Merwe had little competition to touch down from Hendrikse's clever kick and was on hand again when Jaco Kriel split the Dragons defence.

Dragons' fitness has been a real strength in South Africa following strong finishes against the Stormers and the Lions and they did so again here.

Dixon dived under the posts on 51 minutes after Rhodri Williams was hauled down just short to secure a bonus point and Davies' conversion levelled the scores.

JP Smith was sin-binned for tripping but handling errors meant Dragons failed to capitalise, setting up the nail-biting climax as Davies and Hendrikse both missed chances to win it.

Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan:

"We could have won it but we could have lost so in the end, it's definitely three points gained.

"Physically we knew we had to match them by throwing the first punch in tackles, carries, scrums and lineouts and we did that.

"We've had some sickness in the camp this week so for the boys to pull out that performance was fantastic.

"We were a lot more accurate today than the league meeting two weeks ago and our half-backs really controlled field position and the clock.

"It's a great start to the campaign and we can build on this for the next game against Pau."

Lions: Andries Coetzee; Rabz Maxwane, Sango Xamlashe, Zander Du Plessis, Edwill van der Merwe; Gianni Lombard, Andre Warner; Sti Sithole, PJ Botha, Ruan Dreyer, Ruben Schoeman, Reinhard Nothnagel (capt), Jaco Kriel, Darrien-Lane Landsberg, Emmanuel Tshituka.

Replacements: Jaco Visagie, JP Smith, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Ruan Venter, Sibusiso Sangweni, Sanele Nohamba, Jordan Hendrikse, Rynhardt Jonker.

Dragons: Jordan Williams, Jared Rosser, Sio Tomkinson, Jack Dixon, Ashton Hewitt; Sam Davies, Rhodri Williams; Rhodri Jones, Bradley Roberts, Chris Coleman, Joe Davies, Matthew Screech, Sean Lonsdale, Harri Keddie (capt), Ross Moriarty

Replacements: Brodie Coghlan, Rob Evans, Lloyd Fairbrother, Aaron Wainwright, Ben Fry, Lewis Jones, Will Reed, Steff Hughes

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)

Assistant referees: Dan Jones & George Selwood (England)

TMO: Dean Richards (England)