De Beer hits post as Dragons suffer dramatic URC draw

WRAP: The Dragons were held to a dramatic draw by Benetton after Tinus de Beer’s 80th-minute conversion struck the post in Treviso.

Benetton led 19-7 at halftime after tries from Francois Mey, Bautista Bernasconi and Ignacio Mendy, with De Beer replying for the Dragons.

Mistakes in handling and defence allowed Benetton to have the final say of the half through Argentina wing Mendy down the right.

Fine Inisi narrowed the gap early in the second half before Elliot Dee’s late try put Dragons within striking distance.

Jacob Umaga missed a long-range penalty in the 74th minute, and Dragons capitalised as Elliot Dee powered over from a strong driving lineout.

The visitors had a chance to snatch victory but ultimately settled for a draw after Rio Dyer kicked the ball out on the final play rather than attempting to launch one last attack.

De Beer then had the chance to snatch victory, but his difficult conversion from the right hit the upright and bounced away.

The Dragons left Treviso with two points after a spirited comeback, while new Benetton boss Wayne Pivac was left to rue his side’s failure to close out the match.

Dragons will also put it down as a missed opportunity after showing tenacity to stay in the fight, but they now have a run of five games in Wales to make it a strong start.

*Ulster’s dramatic second-half comeback fell just short as Edinburgh held on for a 34-29 victory in Belfast in the opening round of the United Rugby Championship.

Edinburgh dominated the opening 55 minutes, racing into a seemingly unassailable 34-5 lead thanks to tries from Freddy Douglas, Malelili Satala, Hector Patterson and Piers O’Conor, with James Grayson converting all four and adding two penalties.

Michael Lowry’s try was Ulster’s only response before the hosts suddenly exploded into life.

Zac Ward, David McCann and Keynan Knox all crossed within a stunning 10-minute spell, with Jack Murphy adding the conversions and a late penalty to bring Ulster within touching distance.

Despite having all the momentum, Ulster could not complete the comeback but salvaged two bonus points from a remarkable fightback.

Benetton 19-19 Dragons

The scorers:

For Benetton:
Tries: Mey, Bernasconi, Mendy
Cons: Umaga 2

For Dragons:
Tries: De Beer, Inisi, Dee
Cons: De Beer 2

Teams:

Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 François Mey, 12 Paolo Odogwu, 11 Onisi Ratave, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Sebastian Blacks, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Giulio Marini, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Mattia Midena, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Matias Medrano
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Marcos Gallorini, 19 Piero Gritti, 20 Antony Miranda, 21 Siua Maile, 22 Louis Werchon, 23 Jean Smith

Dragons: 15 Huw Anderson, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Fine Inisi, 12 Aneurin Owen (co-captain), 11 Anzelo Tuitavuki, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Evan Minto, 8 Thomas Young (co-captain), 7 Ryan Woodman, 6 Seb Davies, 5 Barny Langton-Cryer, 4 Chris Coleman, 3 Oli Burrows, 2 Rodrigo Martinez, 1 Rhodri Williams
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Robert Hunt, 19 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 20 Harry Beddall, 21 Che Hope, 22 Jac Lloyd, 23 Fetuli Paea

Referee: Christopher Allison (SARU, 11th league game)
Assistant referees: Alex Frasson (FIR) and Dario Merli (FIR)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

Ulster 29-34 Edinburgh

The scorers:

For Ulster:
Tries: Lowry, Ward, McCann, Knox
Cons: Murphy 3
Pen: Murphy

For Edinburgh:
Tries: Douglas, Satala-Navlivou, Patterson, O’Conor
Cons: Grayson 4
Pens: Grayson 2

Teams:

Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Ben Carson, 12 Jamie Benson, 11 Aitzol Arenzana-King, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Conor McKee, 8 James McNabney, 7 Martin Moloney, 6 David McCann, 5 Ben Donnell, 4 Eli Snyman, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 James McCormick,1 Eric O’Sullivan
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Tom McAllister, 18 Keynan Knox, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 James McKillop, 21 Matthew Devine, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Zac Ward

Edinburgh: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Malelili Satala, 13 Matt Currie (co-captain), 12 Kienan Higgins, 11 Geordie Gwynn, 10 James Grayson, 9 Hector Patterson, 8 Magnus Bradbury (co-captain), 7 Freddy Douglas, 6 Liam McConnell, 5 Glen Young, 4 Callum Hunter-Hill, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Harri Morris, 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 17 James Whitcombe, 18 D’arcy Rae, 19 Euan McVie, 20 Tom Currie, 21 Conor McAlpine, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Rory McHaffie

Referee: Federico Vedovelli (FIR, 22nd league game)
Assistant referees: Max Weston (IRFU) and Sam Holt (IRFU)
TMO: Vincenzo Schipani (FIR)