The Dragons made it two wins in a row in the United Rugby Championship for the first time since April 2021 as they overwhelmed Zebre at Rodney Parade.
Quietly, the east Walians are making significant advances under head coach Dai Flanagan.
They achieved this bonus-point success while missing 11 players — six injured, five on international duty — so there was extra reason to commend it.
Flanagan won’t get carried away.
Zebre, after all, are not exactly ferocious opponents.
They offered next to nothing here, but the Dragons did a professional job on them, winning the collisions, bossing the scrums and finishing clinically. Young wing David Richards marked his first start with two tries and the official man-of-the-match award, while Rhodri Williams, Steff Hughes and Angus O’Brien also crossed.
The back row of Aaron Wainwright, Harri Keddie and Ross Moriarty continually caught the eye, with Williams and Sam Davies running the show nicely and Davies finishing with 22 points. Steff Hughes, Sean Lonsdale and Angus O’Brien could also be pleased with their evening’s work.
It didn’t take long for the scoreboard to start ticking over.
Davies banged over the first of four first-half penalties and Williams claimed a well-worked try that started with prop Aki Seiuli showing the handling skills of a back. Moriarty carried the move on by driving through defence in name only before Williams took the pass and fairly flew across field on a diagonal run to line.
Zebre wanted to play expansively, but without the ball they had little opportunity in the first quarter to show what they could do.
Nor did their situation improve quickly.
A hack through from Williams after slipshod Italian handling in midfield saw 22-year-old Richards claim his first Dragons try, then a third Davies penalty stretched the home lead to 23 points.
Zebre gave themselves a dot of hope when lock Andrea Zambonin profited from a smart offload from their best player, scrum-half Chris Cook, but they needed to up their performance in countless areas if they were to battle back into contention.
They leaked a third try when Wainwright ripped open the defence with a step before straightening up and sending Hughes over for a try that helped hoist the Dragons into a 33-7 lead with 48 minutes on the clock.
The Dragons didn’t force the issue, instead doing the basics well and taking chances when they were there. O’Brien claimed the bonus-point try on 57 minutes after clever work from Hughes and Jared Rosser.
Up against it in the scrums, Zebre could do little.
Fast and skilful, Richards completed his brace with a spectacular finish in the corner.
Job done for the hosts, then.
And another step forward.
SCORERS
Dragons
Tries: R. Williams, D. Richards (2), S. Hughes, A. O’Brien. Cons: S. Davies (5). Pens: S. Davies (4).
Zebre
Try: A. Zambonin. Con: T. Eden.
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