Dragons out for the count

Nov 19 2007 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail

Dragons 17-45 London Irish

PAUL TURNER took the unprecedented step of issuing a public apology after his Dragons committed rugby suicide.

It was supposed to be the day in which the Gwent region, fielding an all-Welsh qualified starting line-up, came of age in Europe and sent out a message that they were genuine contenders for a place in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup.

But anything that could go wrong did as Christmas came early for London Irish at a shell-shocked Rodney Parade. Almost every time the Dragons made a mistake, the Guinness Premiership cashed in with a try.

They had scored four to secure a bonus point inside 29 minutes.

Dragons’ comedy of errors continued to near the final whistle when replacement scrum-half Andy Williams passed to opponent Delon Armitage for the London Irish centre to canter in unopposed.

It summed up one of those unaccountable and mystifying days when gift after gift is handed out to grateful opponents. Dragons had gone into the Pool One clash full of confidence after one of their finest performances in the competition.

They had gone down 23-19 in Perpignan but had picked up a bonus point in a tie which, with a bit more composure, they probably would have won.

That result and London Irish’ slow start to the season, apart from predictably crushing Italian side Treviso in their Heineken opener, saw the Exiles pitch up in Newport fearing a drubbing. An English journalist, who has seen virtually all their matches this term, didn’t give Irish a chance.

A bright start from the Dragons would surely have brought a try for Luke Charteris if hooker Steve Jones had straightened and drawn the final defender, Mike Catt, before passing to the lock.

But, like Ian Evans did for the Ospreys at Gloucester the previous night, he ran towards his team-mate and passed too early, on this occasion, allowing Catt to get across and bundle Charteris into touch.

Both incidents highlighted the need for Welsh rugby to concentrate on the basics, like drawing the man and giving. Defending is another issue that must be tackled urgently, with the Dragons failing to deal with the clever chips and grubber-kicks employed by London Irish. Dragons coach Turner must have cringed at what unfolded.

He will know much of the Gwent region’s problems were self-inflicted. His side had gone into the fixture in the unusual position of being talked up by the media and their fans after perhaps punching above their weight in Perpignan.

But they couldn’t handle the tag of favourites with a despondent Turner sighing, “I am hugely disappointed for our supporters and for you, the Welsh Press, because you have seen the way we have been developing.

“We started well and it seemed easier not to score. But then we went to sleep, gave away tries and suddenly the game was gone.

“We didn’t take our chances early on and, instead of being seven points up, we were suddenly ten points down. That’s European rugby.”

True, a record home defeat for the Dragons – the previous worst in their four-year history was a 31-11 loss to Sale Sharks in this competition two seasons ago – suggests that but I reckon it was more of a case of making their opponents look better than they actually are.

The game reminded me of when I used to cover boxing. Manager Mac Williams used to telephone with a brief report of his fighters in action. Invariably, Mac, a real character would say, “ ... started the fight so well. He was on top, throwing jabs and hooks. Then, out of nowhere, he was caught with a big shot, knocked down and couldn’t beat the count.”

Me, “What round did that happen Mac?” “First,” he would invariably reply.

The Dragons, after dominating the early exchanges, were on union’s equivalent of the canvas within minutes.

A double-strike from right wing Tomas de Vedia and others from Catt and Armitage, all acquired far too easily, quickly put a bemused and delighted London Irish out of sight.

If it had been a boxing contest, French referee Christophe Berdos would surely have taken pity on the seemingly punch-drunk Dragons and stopped it as a mismatch. “We came up against a side who suddenly hit their straps for the first time this season and blew us away,” said Turner.

The former Wales outside-half neglected to say a porous defence was a major factor in the capitulation but was right on the money when he pointed out, “Their finishing was far better than ours.”

One plus mark on an otherwise dismal day for the Dragons was another quality performance from lock forward Michael Owen.