The Cell C Sharks came from behind to defeat the Dragons 20-19 on Saturday evening in their second tour match of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship to remain unbeaten in the competition.
There was a brave rearguard action from the Cell C Sharks when they had found themselves 19-6 down in the second half, but two converted tries late in the game delivered a nail-biting victory.
Boeta Chamberlain opened the scoring for the visitors after a powerful scrum effort from his forwards that yielded a penalty in front of the posts inside the opening 10 minutes after both sides had shown plenty of attacking intent in the early stages of the game.
The Dragons equalised with a penalty of their own a few minutes later for off-sides and then went three points ahead for a breakdown penalty conceded on defence on the quarter hour. A third penalty, this time at scrum time, saw Dragons taking a 9-3 lead with just over 10 minutes to play as they had found a way to keep the scoreboard ticking in their favour.
With every scrum ending in a penalty and the Cell C Sharks ahead on that count, it was fitting that Chamberlain cut the lead to three with his second penalty when Dragons were pinged on their scrum put-in deep inside their own half.
However the home side had the last say of the half with a penalty to push their lead back to six points as they took a 12-6 lead into the half-time break, having enjoyed as much as 75% ball possession at times in the half but unable to make it count where it mattered most.
The Dragons scored first in the second half, the opening try of the game that started in their 22 when a hugely promising Cell C Sharks attack broke down and the ball went upfield before a driving maul went over the tryline, the conversion sending the Welsh into a 19-6 lead.
The Cell C Sharks’ frustrations mounted as they regularly achieved good rewards to work their way deep into Dragons’ territory, only to be denied time and again.
Finally some good luck prevailed as Grant Williams latched onto a Dragons’ pass in midfield with opportunistic glee and he needed no prompting on his way to the tryline to earn the Cell C Sharks’ first try, with Chamberlain adding the two. It was the start of an impressive momentum shift and a truly courageous fightback.
The final quarter was fiercely contested and the action never let up as both sides chased an important win at this early stage of the tournament.
The Cell C Sharks made it a one point game with less than five minutes remaining when Sikhumbuzo Notshe made a lovely break and the ball was sent wide to Thaakir Abrahams who rounded the defence to score his team’s second try.
The game was set for a thrilling final few minutes when Chamberlain converted to push the Cell C Sharks into a 20-19 lead.
The Dragons just didn’t have enough in the tank to overcome a proud Cell C Sharks defence and it was fitting that the workhorse Dylan Richardson won the Man of the Match award, for he epitomised the courage his team showed to take the spoils.