Dragons end abject season on a low with loss to Lions

The Dragons completed their dismal season without winning a game at home as they went down 21-11 to the Lions at Rodney Parade.

Dean Ryan’s side drew 13-13 with Benetton in January but lost all their other matches on home turf, with only victories at Connacht and the Scarlets to cheer.

They led 11-7 at half-time of this final instalment of the campaign after a 25th-minute try by right wing Rio Dyer and two penalties from fly-half Will Reed.

John Cooney – Broncos, Brad Thorn & Marcell Coetzee | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 34

Video Player is loading.

Play Video

PlaySkip BackwardSkip Forward

Unmute

Current Time 0:00

/

Duration 0:00

Loaded: 0%

Stream Type LIVE

Seek to live, currently behind liveLIVE

Remaining Time -0:00

 

1x

Playback Rate

Chapters

• Chapters

Descriptions

• descriptions off, selected

Captions

• captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
• captions off, selected

Audio Track

Fullscreen

This is a modal window.

The Video Cloud video was not found.

Error Code: VIDEO_CLOUD_ERR_VIDEO_NOT_FOUND

Session ID: 2025-08-24:dcd9641a6a7d56b04e3a43f0 Player Element ID: brightcove-embedded-video

OK

Close Modal Dialog

Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

Text

ColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-Transparent

Text Background

ColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparent

Caption Area Background

ColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaque

Font Size

50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%

Text Edge Style

NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop shadow

Font Family

Proportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall Caps

ResetDone

Close Modal Dialog

End of dialog window.

Close Modal Dialog

This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

John Cooney – Broncos, Brad Thorn & Marcell Coetzee | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 34

And the home side were reasonable value for their advantage having enjoyed the bulk of territory and possession throughout the opening 40 minutes.

But the Lions were always in touch after a well crafted try by Edwill van der Merwe in the 34th minute and always looked as though they might make their extra bulk tell as the game wore on.

They did just that. By the 53rd minute the Dragons were behind by 10 points after early second-half tries from lock Ruan Venter and tighthead prop Ruan Dreyer, both converted by fly-half Jordan Hendrikse.

The Dragons, eager to give their fans something to cheer, did rally for the final quarter.

Centre Josh Lewis thought he had claimed a try 12 minutes from the end of time when he intercepted a pass and sprinted clear.

But referee Joy Neville consulted the TMO and the score was correctly ruled out for a failure to ground the ball, with Lewis’ stumble just yards from the line proving costly.

There was little on the match for either side, prompting a stale and indifferent atmosphere at Rodney Parade for periods of the game.

Ultimately the Lions made their size and power count. They dominated the scrum, heaving the Dragons back painfully on several occasions and they decisively won the battle of the gain-line.

The Dragons were weakened, with Welsh international forwards Ross Moriarty, Ben Carter, Leon Brown, Aaron Wainwright and Will Rowlands all missing.

But still there was a sense that their home faithful were glad to see the final curtain come down on a nightmare campaign.