Staff Reporter.
The Dragons fell to a third straight home loss of the campaign as the Stormers claimed their first victory of the United Rugby Championship, winning 24-10 on Friday.
The Stormers were down 10-3 at one stage but their forwards became increasingly dominant and the South Africans were deserved winners, with the Dragons conceding a number of penalties.
Leolin Zas scored two tries for the Stormers, while Manie Libbok added four penalties and a conversion.
Josh Lewis scored a try for the Dragons, with Sam Davies kicking a penalty and a conversion.
After last week’s impressive 35-22 win at Connacht, it was a disappointing performance from the Dragons, whose case was not helped by the late withdrawals of centre Jack Dixon and full-back Jordan Williams.
In addition, they lost hooker Elliot Dee in the first half with what appeared to be a neck issue and this will be of concern to Wales coach Wayne Pivac with the national team’s New Zealand clash only a fortnight away.
The Dragons had the better of the early exchanges but it was the South Africans who grabbed the lead in the 15th minute when Libbok kicked a simple penalty.
The Stormers then suffered a blow when lock Salmaan Moerat was yellow-carded for a high tackle on home flanker Taine Basham.
The Dragons immediately capitalised when a well-judged chip ahead from Davies saw Lewis win the race to touch down.
Davies converted and added a simple penalty, with Moerat returning from the sin-bin before Dee was helped off after lengthy treatment.
The home side received a further setback when Libbok kicked two penalties in quick succession, but the Dragons still held a 10-9 half-time lead.
A needless knock-on from Argentinian scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou gave the Stormers an attacking platform and, after turning down three kickable penalties, they were rewarded with a try when Libbok kicked through for Zas to collect and score.
Libbok missed the conversion but succeeded with a fourth penalty before the Stormers broke out in the final minutes, with Zas scoring his second try to seal victory.
Meanwhile Ulster moved top of the United Rugby Championship with a fourth straight bonus-point win of the season but saw Will Addison taken off on a stretcher to dampen their victory over the Lions.
Full-back Addison was carried off in the 46th minute, having had his ankle trapped in a tackle.
The province had opened up a half-time lead with tries from Nick Timoney and James Hume.
Matty Rea and Timoney added further scores after the break to seal the win.
With Munster not playing until Saturday, Ulster leapfrogged their inter-provincial rivals into first with one more game, against Connacht at the Aviva Stadium next Saturday, to come before a month without a match as the autumn internationals take centre stage.
For a youthful team with many senior players still to come back, Ulster will be pleased to have successfully navigated the opening weeks of the season while securing maximum points.
But with stiffer challenges lying ahead, they will know more complete performances will be required if they are to remain at the top of the table in the months to come.
Addison’s injury sucked the atmosphere out of Kingspan Stadium six minutes into the second half, with Dan McFarland revealing after the game that the full-back had been taken to hospital and that the injury “does not look great.”
A fan favourite, Addison only made his return to action in April this year after 15 months out through injury.
Before then, he had not started back-to-back games since January 2020. Despite relentless injuries he has remained a huge influence at the northern province and went straight back into the international set-up for Ireland’s summer games.
The extent of the injury suffered on Friday is not yet known, but the full-back immediately appeared in deep discomfort as members of the medical staff rushed to his aid before calling for the stretcher.
When the fixture list was released Ulster will have eyed their first four matches knowing that maximum points was really the expectation more than the hope, given they consisted of three home games and a trip to Zebre Parma.
The province have delivered on expectation, but have yet to hit top gear in terms of performance with all four games to date containing some bright, eye-catching moments amid displays lacking in any true rhythm.
Timoney’s opening try from a smartly-worked line-out play in which the flanker collected Andy Warwick’s offload after Rob Herring’s low throw to the front got the scoreboard moving inside four minutes.
The Lions, the best South African team in the URC after the opening three rounds, used their sizable presence up front to get the better of the breakdown and work their way into the contest, scoring their first try on 17 minutes through Pienaar in the corner.
Chances came and went for Ulster, with Billy Burns missing a kick for touch and David McCann knocking on with the try-line at his mercy, as inaccuracy disrupted the host’s search for momentum.
They did however find their rhythm towards the end of the half, keeping ball in hand and creating quick ball that brought them right to the Lions’ line before Burns flung a pass wide for Hume to stroll in unchallenged.
After Addison’s injury silenced the home crowd, Rea produced a power leg drive to soon provide a much-needed lift and bring the bonus-point in sight against a Lions side that did not threaten to overturn what was only a two-point half-time deficit.
It was Timoney, another who has impressed in the first rounds of the new season, who stepped up to find the fourth try minutes after Alan O’Connor had been held up just inches short of the line.