Dragons end losing streak with Sharks draw

Tonga centre Fetuli Paea made telling contributions to both Dragons tries but his debut was ended by a wrist injury

Dragons (14) 17

Tries: Wainwright, O'Brien Cons: De Beer 2 Pen: De Beer

Sharks (17) 17

Tries: Orie, V Tshituka Cons: Smith 2 Pen: Smith

Dragons ended their 18-game losing streak in the United Rugby Championship (URC) by drawing 17-17 with Sharks at Rodney Parade.

Filo Tiatia's men shared the spoils in rainy Newport but will feel it should have been a first home win since the opening weekend of last season.

Sharks led 17-14 at half-time thanks to close-range tries by lock Marvin Orie and number eight Vincent Tshituka either side of scores by Dragons number eight Aaron Wainwright and full-back Angus O'Brien.

Dragons got the only points of the second half through a Tinus de Beer penalty, but could not find a winner after turning down a straightforward drop-goal attempt in the dying seconds.

Dragons made a sloppy start and paid the price when Sharks kicked a penalty to the corner and then Orie powered over for an eighth-minute try that fly-half Jean Smith converted.

The home side levelled with their first attack of note after a powerful burst by Paea and then Wainwright's strong line and rapid finish.

De Beer converted but Smith responded with a 19th minute penalty to put Sharks 10-7 up.

Paea was to the fore again after 25 minutes when he burst through from midfield partner Aneurin Owen's short ball and, after bumping off wing Christie Grobbelaar, stayed cool to put O'Brien over, with De Beer making it 14-10.

However, Sharks went to their changing room with a 17-14 lead after reaping the rewards of kicking to the corner and hammering away for captain Tshituka to go over for a try that Smith converted.

Dragons were denied a third try four minutes after the restart when TMO footage revealed a knock-on by Wyn Jones before wing Rio Dyer went over from a cross-kick.

They suffered the blow of losing Paea and conditions became increasingly challenging as the game entered the final quarter without any second-half scores.

That led to Dragons opting for the posts with a penalty and De Beer levelled up the scores with quarter of an hour to go.

Sharks' scrum dominance led to the hosts finishing the game down to 14 men after a yellow card for replacement tight-head prop Chris Coleman.

Dragons escaped an assault on their line and finished the game hunting a winner with the clock in the red but blew their chance.

They have three more chances for a win in the first block of the URC with a trip to Glasgow and home derbies against Cardiff and Ospreys.

Dragons: O'Brien (co-capt); Dyer, Paea, Owen, Inisi; De Beer, R Williams; W Jones, Coghlan, Hunt, Screech, Carter (co-capt), Woodman, Lewis-Hughes, Wainwright.

Replacements: Burrows, Martinez, Coleman, Douglas, Keddie, Hope, Ackerman, Anderson.

Sharks: Van der Merwe; Sobahle, Julius, Am, Grobbelaar; J Smith, Ja Hendrikse; Matanzima, Mbatha, Dreyer, Slabbert, Orie, Buthelezi, M Tshituka, V Tshituka (capt).

Replacements: Swart, Dawson, Dlamini, Hlekani, Hatton, Braude, F Venter, Kunene.

Referee: Fillipo Russo (FIR)

Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse, Lucas Yendle (WRU).

TMO: Stefano Roscini (FIR)