Benjamin strikes late for Dragons

James Benjamin scored two late tries as Newport Gwent Dragons' surprise 25-22 victory over Leinster gave them their first-ever Pro12 season double over the Irish province.

The defeat serves a massive blow to Leinster's hunt for the play-offs, but means Dragons have now won their last four matches in all competitions.

Newport took an 8-0 lead after a Jason Tovey penalty and a try from captain Rhys Thomas but a Ben Te'o double and a Jimmy Gopperth score seemed to have won it for Leinster.

Te'o turned villain when he was sin-binned for a high tackle and a Jack Dixon try along with Benjamin's double gave Dragons the victory.

Leinster went into the game having won just one of their previous five fixtures in the Pro12.

And they started badly, giving away a penalty at the scrum which Tovey converted to give his side an early 3-0 lead.

That lead was extended just minutes later when Newport won a line-out five metres out and Thomas went over for the try.

Tovey missed the conversion, leaving the scores at 8-0 after 12 minutes.

But Dragons were caught offside moments later and Gopperth converted the penalty to reduce the deficit.

Ben Marshall nearly pulled Leinster level on the half-hour mark but his brilliant solo-run was brought to a halt by a crucial tackle from Hallam Amos.

But the Leinstermen didn't have to wait long for another opportunity as Gopperth broke brilliantly to feed Ben Te'o for the try.

And while Gopperth missed the conversion, his name was on the scoresheet again seconds later when he broke free and went over for the score.

Gopperth's successful conversion completed the comeback for Leinster as they went into the break with a 15-8 lead.

And Te'o was on hand for his second try of the game shortly after the restart when the ball was fed out wide and the Samoan international went over.

Gopperth added the extras to give Leinster a 22-8 lead.

But a Dixon try gave Dragons hope after they piled on the pressure in an attempt to get back in the game.

And when Te'o was sin binned for a high tackle Dragons made the extra man count, as they charged down a Newport clearance for Benjamin to score the try.

And Benjamin grabbed his second with just five minutes left on the clock to secure the surprise win.

The scorers:

For Newport Gwent Dragons:

Tries: T Thomas, Dixon, Benjamin 2

Con: Tovey

Pen: Tovey

For Leinster:

Tries: Te'o 2, Gopperth

Cons: Gopperth 2

Pen: Gopperth

Yellow card: Ben Te'o (Leinster, 63)

Teams:

Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Jason Tovey, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Dorian Jones, 9 Jonathan Evans, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 Cory Hill, 4 James Thomas, 3 Brok Harris, 2 T.Rhys Thomas (c), 1 Phil Price.

Replacements: 16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Luke Garrett, 18 Dan Way, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 James Benjamin, 21 Luc Jones, 22 Pat Leach, 23 Geraint Rhys Jones.

Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Darragh Fanning, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Shane Jennings (c), 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Ben Marshall, 3 Martin Moore, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Jack McGrath.

Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Michael Bent, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.

Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)

Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Sean Brickell (Wales)

TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)

Source: @PRO12rugby

That’s it for Round 19! Which teams look on track for the final on May 30 – Ltd tickets remain http://t.co/pHRrZnfJap pic.twitter.com/G6NmfcWaMq

— PRO12RUGBY (@PRO12rugby) April 12, 2015