The Dragons got back to winning ways at Rodney Parade, where 14 points from Angus O'Brien, and Tries from Sarel Pretorius and skipper Lewis Evans seeing us home against a stubborn and determined Treviso side.
With conditions damp and windy, the Dragons intent to spread the ball was evident from the off, with a number of positive attacks breaking down with handling errors with a wet and slippery ball. The pack once again played superbly in the conditions, following up on their strong performance against the Ospreys with an aggressive and determined performance against an opposition pack of 7 full internationals.
The opening try went to Treviso, where a poor kick in midfield was allowed to bounce, it evaded the Dragons defenders and allowed former Ospreys scrum half Tito Tebaldi to go over in the corner.
The Dragons responded with some good phase play, with Cory Hill very prominent, allowing quick ball for Sarel Pretorius to pick the ball at full pace and sprint over under the post for a good try. Unfortunately Sarel followed this up by a 10 min sin-binning for deliberately knocking down a Treviso attack, but fortunately this did not cost the team during the period.
The second half that followed demonstrated another strong performance up front, and afforded Dorian Jones and Nic Cudd some game time in their return to fitness. The forwards continued to show their superiority up front throughout this period, with a good rolling maul driving Captain Lewis Evans over for the Try that made the result safe.
Back to winning ways at Fortress Rodney Parade, and hopefully the following weeks will allow the team to build the momentum that was generated pre the Xmas period.. #SUFTMOG
Dragons: Carl Meyer; Tom Prydie, Tyler Morgan, Adam Warren, Pat Howard (Jack Dixon); Angus O’Brien (Dorian Jones), Sarel Pretorius; Phil Price (Sam Hobbs), Elliot Dee (Rhys Buckley), Brok Harris (Lloyd Fairbrother ), Nick Crosswell (Rynard Landman), Cory Hill, Lewis Evans (capt), Ed Jackson, Ollie Griffiths (Nic Cudd).
Tries: Pretorius, Evans;
Cons: O’Brien, Jones;
Pens: O’Brien (3);
Drop-goal: O’Brien.
Treviso: Luke McLean; Andrea Pratichetti, Tommaso Benvenuti, Alberto Sgarbi (capt), Luca Sperandio; Tommaso Allan (Ian McKinley), Tito Tebaldi (Giorgio Bronzini); Alberto De Marchi (Federico Zani), Davide Giazzon (Ornel Gega), Matteo Zanusso (Tiziano Pasquali), Marc Fuser (Filo Paul), Dean Budd, Braam Steyn (Marco Lazzaroni), Marco Barbini, Robert Barbieri (Tommaso Iannone).
Tries: Tebaldi;
pens: Allan.