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Stormers pick up first win of United Rugby Championship
By PA
The Dragons fell to a third consecutive home defeat of the season as the Stormers picked up their first win of the United Rugby Championship, winning 24-10 in Newport.
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The Stormers trailed 10-3 at one stage but their pack became increasingly dominant and were deserved winners, with the Dragons conceding a number of penalties.
Leolin Zas scored two tries for the Stormers, while Manie Libbok added four penalties and a conversion.
Josh Lewis scored a try for the Dragons, with Sam Davies kicking a penalty and a conversion.
After last week’s impressive 35-22 win at Connacht, it was a disappointing performance from the Dragons, whose case was not helped by the late withdrawals of centre Jack Dixon and full-back Jordan Williams.
In addition, they lost hooker Elliot Dee in the first half with what appeared to be a neck issue and this will be of concern to Wales coach Wayne Pivac with the national team’s New Zealand clash only a fortnight away.
The Dragons had the better of the early exchanges but it was the South Africans who grabbed the lead in the 15th minute when Libbok kicked a simple penalty.
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The Stormers then suffered a blow when lock Salmaan Moerat was yellow-carded for a high tackle on home flanker Taine Basham.
The Dragons immediately capitalised when a well-judged chip ahead from Davies saw Lewis win the race to touch down.
Davies converted and added a simple penalty, with Moerat returning from the sin-bin before Dee was helped off after lengthy treatment.
The home side received a further setback when Libbok kicked two penalties in quick succession, but the Dragons still held a 10-9 half-time lead.
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A needless knock-on from Argentinian scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou gave the Stormers an attacking platform and, after turning down three kickable penalties, they were rewarded with a try when Libbok kicked through for Zas to collect and score.
Libbok missed the conversion but succeeded with a fourth penalty before the Stormers broke out in the final minutes, with Zas scoring his second try to seal victory.
