Dragons leapfrog Zebre with rare win

A blistering start to the second half set Newport Gwent Dragons on their way to a 25-11 victory that lifts them out of the Pro12 bottom two.

Coming into the game second from bottom in the competition and without a league win since beating Benetton Treviso in Round Four, the hosts grabbed the game's first try through Ross Wardle.

The contest was still in the balance at the break but the hosts flew out the blocks in the second half, Hallam Amos and skipper Rynard Landman crossing over in quick succession.

Andrea Mancini hit back for the visitors but the Dragons soon stifled their efforts and secured just a fourth Pro12 win at Rodney Parade in 2014.

Tom Prydie (pictured below) sent an early penalty drifting wide of the right-hand upright but the full-back was soon handed another opportunity, this time opening the scoring from right in front of the target.

Kelly Haimona hooked wide his first effort at the uprights after the hosts conceded a penalty near the left touchline and after a quarter of an hour their three-point advantage was still intact.

Ill-discipline halted a Dragons attack on more than one occasion, with the Welsh outfit repeatedly pinning Zebre back in their own half only to relieve the pressure at the breakdown.

And up the other end, after Andrew Coombes was penalised for an illegal tackle, Haimona levelled things up on the 20-minute mark.

Things got worse for the hosts when Taulupe Faletau was forced off injured but the gloom was soon lifted as they grabbed the game's opening try.

Wardle, waiting patiently on the right wing, picked up Prydie's pass on the bounce after a promising move appeared to have hit the brakes and sharply cut inside a handful of defenders to slide over.

Prydie converted but Haimona swiftly added his second penalty, after Jason Tovey was pinged for handling on the ground just inside his own 22.

Prydie could have restored the seven-point lead on 35 minutes after Giulio Bisegni failed to roll away, only for his effort to drift wide – but he did so with the last kick of the half to make it 13-6.

Shortly after the break Zebre found themselves down to 13, with Leonardo Sarto joining Mauro Bergamasco in the bin, and they were swiftly punished.

The Dragons spread the ball wide to the left where Amos was waiting to dive over the whitewash, though Prydie couldn't quite add the extras from a tricky angle.

Some pinpoint kicking from Tovey kept the visitors on the back foot and when an overlap appeared on the right Landman didn't need a second invitation to capitalise, Prydie nailing the touchline conversion.

It took just three minutes for Zebre to hit back, through hooker Mancini piling over in the left corner.

Almost out of nothing Zebre almost found another after an hour, Haimona and Brendon Leonard making good ground before the latter fed Sarto, only for the winger to be held up on the line.

But the hosts found a way to nullify Zebre's attacking threat, denying them the opportunity to pinch a losing bonus point late on.

The scorers:

For Newport Gwent Dragons:

Tries: Wardle, Amos, Landman

Cons: Prydie 2

Pens: Prydie 2

For Zebre:

Try: Manici

Pens: Haimona 2

Yellow cards: Mauro Bergamasco (Zebre, 40), Leonardo Sarto (Zebre, 43)

Teams:

Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Tom Prydie, 14 Matthew Pewtner, 13 Ross Wardle, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Jonathan Evans, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 James Thomas, 5 Rynard Landman (captain), 4 Andrew Coombs, 3 Brok Harris, 2 T Rhys Thomas, 1 Phil Price.

Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Owen Evans, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Lewis Evans, 21 Richie Rees, 22 Dorian Jones, 23 Tyler Morgan.

Zebre: 15 Hendrik Daniller, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Matteo Pratichetti, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Filippo Cristiano (captain), 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Andrea Manici, 1 Andrea Lovotti.

Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Luciano Leibson, 19 George Biagi, 20 Jacopo Sarto, 21 Luciano Orquera, 22 Giulio Toniolatti 23 Guglielmo Palazzani.

Referee: Gary Conway

Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse, Simon Rees

TMO: Paul Adams