Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Brodie Coghlan brace in vain as Dragons beaten by Zebre

By PA
Zebre beat Dragons 31-21 - Photo from United Rugby Championship Youtube

Dragons blew an early lead as they slipped to a 31-21 defeat away to Zebre to remain rooted to the foot of the United Rugby Championship.

ADVERTISEMENT

Two early tries from Brodie Coghlan helped Dragons into a 21-7 lead with just over half an hour gone in Parma, but it was all Zebre thereafter as the Gwent side slipped to an 11th defeat in 12.

Dragons began brightly and were rewarded when Coghlan went over from close range 12 minutes in, with Will Reed converting for a 7-0 lead.

Related

It took just three minutes for Zebre to respond through Giovanni Licata, but the Dragons were still looking the better of the two sides in the early stages and soon got back on top.

Coghlan won a turnover penalty in the corner and the hooker soon capitalised himself as he ran in for his second try, again converted by Reed to restore the seven-point advantage.

And in the 31st minute the visitors had a third try, with Huw Anderson cutting through the Zebre defence before handing off to Joe Westwood to cross.

But Zebre got one back in the last minute of the first half through Bautista Stavile, and that proved crucial as the momentum shifted in the second half.

ADVERTISEMENT

The hosts needed only a couple of minutes to get back on level terms as Geronimo Prisciantelli crossed after great work from Rusiate Nasove, and Fetuli Paea then put them ahead in the 59th minute.

The Dragons were given hope with Alessandro Fusco sent to the sin bin for a cynical foul in the 71st minute, but they could not make the most of the extra man as Prisciantelli kicked a penalty in the dying seconds to seal Zebre’s win.

ADVERTISEMENT

KOKO Show | July 1st | The Lions are here and the KOKO crew are getting excited

Touchdown in Dublin, The Red Sea Returns & We Prepare to Face Argentina | Ep 2: The Ultimate Test

World Rugby U20 Championship 2025

South Africa v British & Irish Lions | 2009 | Second Test | The Vaults

Lions Share | Episode 1

England XV v France XV | Full Match Replay

"The Opportunity Of A Lifetime" | Wallabies All In: Episode 1

Are these the best ever Lions performances?

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

N
Nickers 6 minutes ago
Scott Robertson makes bold selection calls for 1st Test against France

Some interesting selections, especially in the forwards which will be interesting to see play out. Certainly make sense on paper, and if they think Vaai is a 6 then he needs some time in the saddle.


Great to see Proctor at 13. Although the Canes did their usual underperformance in Canberra, he completely changed the trajectory of their season and the Hurricanes wingers were running in tries all over the place. Huge opportunity for Kirifi too.


Awesome to see form rewarded.


Back 3 does not look good at all. In the age of the high ball this could easily costs us the game even against a new look French team. The Chiefs absolutely went to pieces against the high ball in the second half of the SR final and couldn’t get into the game as a result. Nearly every high ball resulted in the Crusaders getting the ball back. LeGarrac will do that all night. Neither Reiko or Reece can kick, so neither of them are the winger that drops back to cover backfield. This will mean BB has a full time job covering the backfield, as well as playing 10, a role both he and DMac have struggled with in recent years.


The coaches obviously have some kind of plan for this, but if things go horribly wrong this will be where it happens.


We must also start embracing the 6-2 bench split. Other than a halfback, a specialist back on the bench is a complete waste. I’d rather have a fresh loose forward coming into the mix in the last 10 or 20 minutes than a 12. How much impact did someone like ALB ever have coming on at the end of the game?

81 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Armed guards, flags set alight and a fusillade of oranges - England's 1990 tour of Argentina remembered Armed guards, flags set alight and a fusillade of oranges - England's 1990 tour of Argentina remembered
Search