Dragons 32-32 Ulster: Sides deadlocked after dramatic contest
By PA
Last Updated: 01/12/17 10:36pm
Newport Gwent Dragons and Ulster fought out an dramatic 32-32 PRO14 draw at Rodney Parade.
Ulster looked to have edged the win through Christian Lealiifano's late try but the fly-half missed a straightforward conversion which would have won the game for Ulster.
Wing Ashton Hewitt scored two tries for the Dragons, with lock Matthew Screech and hooker Liam Belcher also touching down before full-back Angus O'Brien scored.
Fly-half Gavin Henson kicked a penalty and two conversions.
Wing Craig Gilroy scored twice for Ulster, with scrum-half Paul Marshall also crossing. The referee also awarded a penalty-try while Lealiifano kicked a penalty and a conversion but was crucially off target at the death.
Dragons' centre Jack Dixon handed the early initiative to Ulster when he was sin-binned after just four minutes for a high tackle and with the man advantage, Ulster took their chances and went 8-0 up.
Lealiifano landed a 30-metre penalty from Dixon's indiscretion, and some good work down the right from Marshall, Louis Ludik and full-back Charles Piutau saw Gilroy race in.
Back to full strength, the home side hit back by moving 15-8 ahead.
Screech was at the back of a driving maul over the Ulster line for the first try, which Henson converted, before adding a penalty after a great charge from captain Ollie Griffiths.
A neat grubber kick from Dixon to the corner then saw Hewitt touch down, but the ding-dong battle took another turn when the Dragons pulled down a maul on their line. Referee Marius Mitrea awarded a penalty-try to send the teams in at half-time locked at 15-15.
Marshall restored Ulster's lead after Number Eight Nick Timoney was stopped a metre short after a run down the right, but his scrum-half leaned over the ruck on the blindside to score.
And by the hour, Ulster had their try bonus-point and put themselves 12 points clear when Gilroy nabbed his second touchdown with Lealiifano adding the touchline conversion.
Any thoughts this was game over were quickly dismissed as the Dragons came fighting back with two tries in six minutes.
Belcher drove over from an attacking line-out and a blistering move down the left by Rosser saw him pass inside for O'Brien to score their bonus-point try with Henson adding a touchline conversion that levelled the match.
And in the final two minutes, Henson fed O'Brien in the Ulster 22 who passed wide for Hewitt to nab his second.
That score went unconverted, which could have been costly when Lealiifano dotted down near the posts for Ulster's fifth try but with a kick to win it, he missed to end a breathless game.
