De Beer shines in Dragons' rare away win, derby win for Cardiff
WRAP: Dragons will head into their Challenge Cup semifinal with renewed belief after David Richards’ dramatic last-gasp try secured a victory over Zebre in the United Rugby Championship.
The Rodney Parade side ended a four-year wait for an away league win, with Richards diving over after the clock had turned red to seal the result in Parma.
Dragons held a narrow 7-3 lead at the break thanks to a well-worked try finished by Jared Rosser, but Zebre responded early in the second half when hooker Tommaso di Bartolomeo powered over from a driving maul.
In a scrappy contest, momentum swung late in the game. Ben Carter restored the Dragons’ lead in the 67th minute, only for Samuele Locatelli to hit back almost immediately for the hosts.
But just when it seemed Zebre might hold on, Dragons struck with the final play – replicating their recent knockout success at the same venue – to snatch a crucial win.
It marked their first URC away victory since April 2022 and their first outside Wales since October 2021, lifting them above Scarlets into 14th place as they battle to avoid finishing as the lowest-ranked Welsh side this season.
Importantly, Dragons appear to have come through unscathed ahead of their semifinal clash against Montpellier on May 3.
For Zebre, it was a case of déjà vu after another late heartbreak, leaving them rooted to the bottom of the table with a tough South African tour to come.
The visitors had chances to build a stronger lead early on, but errors and missed opportunities kept Zebre in the contest. The hosts briefly edged ahead through Giacomo Da Re’s boot before Dragons struck through Rosser following a slick move involving Tinus de Beer and Thomas Young.
Zebre improved after the break, taking the lead through a penalty and a converted try, but struggled to capitalise on attacking opportunities.
As the game entered its closing stages, Dragons stayed within striking distance – and when the final chance came, they took it. With a penalty advantage in hand, De Beer kept the ball alive brilliantly, allowing Richards to dive over in the corner and seal a long-awaited away triumph.
*In Cardiff, the home side looked to be cruising at 24-7 up, but were left hanging on after a late Ospreys blitz. Still, Corniel van Zyl’s side have gone fourth in the table, temporarily at least, and remain on course for the play-offs.
Tries came through lock Rory Thornton, skipper Liam Belcher, and flanker Dan Thomas, while Callum Sheedy added nine points from the tee.
Ospreys’ challenge was undermined by discipline issues, with wing Daniel Kasende shown a 20-minute red card in the first half for dangerous play.
Further yellow cards to centre Owen Watkin and flyhalf Dan Edwards meant the Ospreys spent nearly half the match with fewer than 15 players on the field.
Zebre 18-19 Dragons
Scorers:
For Zebre:
Tries: Di Bartolomeo, Locatelli
Cons: Da Re
Pens: Da Re 2
For Dragons:
Tries: J Rosser, Carter, Richards
Cons: O’Brien 2
Teams:
Zebre Parma: 15 Giovanni Montemauri, 14 Malik Faissal, 13 Giulio Bertaccini, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giovanni Licata (captain), 7 Davide Odiase, 6 Alessandro Ortombina, 5 Alessandro Ortombina, 4 Leonard Krumov, 3 Ion Neculai, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Paolo Buonfiglio.
Replacements: 16 Shilo Klein, 17 Muhamed Hasa, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Bautista Stavile, 20 Samuele Locatelli, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Marco Zanon, 23 Jacopo Trulla.
Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien (co-captain), 14 David Richards, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes (co-captain), 5 Ben Carter, 4 Levi Douglas, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rodrigo Martinez.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Owain James, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Seb Davies, 21 Morgan Lloyd, 22 Harri Ackerman, 23 Huw Anderson.
Referee: Ru Campbell (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy), Lorenzo Pedezzi (Italy)
TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland)
Cardiff 24-21 Ospreys
The scorers:
For Cardiff:
Tries: Thornton, Belcher, D Thomas
Cons: Sheedy 3
Pens: Sheedy
For Ospreys:
Tries: K Williams, Walsh, Edwards
Cons: Edwards 3
Teams:
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Jacob Beetham, 13 Ben Thomas, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Alun Lawrence, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Liam Belcher (captain), 1 Rhys Barratt.
Replacements: 16 Daf Hughes, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 George Nott, 20 Evan Lloyd, 21 Alex Mann, 22 Ellis Bevan, 23 Ioan Lloyd.
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Dan Kasende, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Jac Morgan (captain), 6 James Ratti, 5 Ryan Smith, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Efan Daniel, 17 Steffan Thomas, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Harri Deaves, 22 Kieran Hardy, 23 Max Nagy.
Referee: Christopher Allison (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Carwyn Sion (Wales)
TMO: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
