Lions and Dragons share the spoils after see-saw battle of thrills and spills

This was a 'one for you, one for me', see-saw battle at 'the Park' and at the end of play the Lions and the Dragons ended up licking each other's ice cream.

The Lions first match in the Challenge Cup produced many thrills, but mostly spills, as neither side asserted themselves long enough to claim the win.

The match ended in a 31-all stalemate with the Lions seemingly calling a ceasefire as early as the 49th minute.

Replacement Lions flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse however missed the opportunity to hand his team their first win in the competition when his 62m penalty after the full-time siren drifted agonisingly wide but whether the hosts, who played in fits and starts, deserved all the log points is debatable.

The Lions suffered an early setback when their Springbok tight head Ruan Dreyer appeared to sustain a serious leg injury and his replacement Asenathi Ntlabakanye trudged on bringing with him a considerable amount of bulk but he had a long way to go before the final whistle.

The hosts simply did not rise to the challenge lacking cohesion against a much improved Dragons side.

Before this match their coach Dai Flanagan lamented his team's lack of physicality in their loss at the same ground a fortnight ago in the United Rugby Championship (URC). He held the firm view that they needed to start this match on the front foot.

A far more determined and organised Dragons reported for duty.

Spurred on by man of the match scrumhalf Rhodri Williams, the Dragons at times made easy metres on the Lions with flyhalf Sam Davies and No8 Ross Moriarty who has the benefit of a rich Welsh rugby bloodline, playing supporting roles.

The Dragons made the most of a Lions' defensive line that was bunched up in midfield as they manufactured the first try for fullback Jordan Williams.

The hosts levelled with a try for flyhalf Gianni Lombard but the home team was again caught passive in defence as the Dragons applied the squeeze.

They laid siege to the Lions' goalline after the quarter mark and their persistence yielded the desired result when scrumhalf Williams peeled blindside and slipped opposite number Andre Warner's tackle.

The visitors were 24-17 up at the break but Hendrikse stepped off the bench and gave them thrust, playing a strong hand, and foot, in their second half revival.

Further urgency came from replacement scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba.

The hosts scored a superb try when they hit left off a scrum in the 45th minute.

Andries Coetzee got them over the advantage line and a deft Hendrikse left-footed grubber gave the impeccable Edwill van der Merwe something to chase.

He then toed ahead into the goal area and fell on the bouncing ball.

Once they went 31-24 up however the Lions appeared to lose their lustre and hunger. The visitors finished stronger but the Lions spurned the chance to walk away with the sweet taste of success.

Scorers

Lions (31) — Tries: Gianni Lombard, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Edwill van der Merwe (2). Conversion: Lombard (2), Jordan Hendrikse (2). Penalty: Lombard.

Dragons (31) — Tries: Jordan Williams, Rhodri Williams, Sam Davies, Jack Dixon . Conversions: Davies (4). Penalty: Davies.

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.