Dragons 16-27 Glasgow Warriors
A last-minute Kiran McDonald try secured a vital bonus-point victory for Glasgow Warriors this evening, as the club overpowered a stubborn Dragons side to claim a 27-16 win at Cardiff City Stadium.
Kyle Steyn, Ross Thompson and George Turner also touched down for the visitors, who go into their final fixture still in with a shot of reaching the Rainbow Cup Final.
Needing the victory to keep their Guinness Rainbow Cup hopes alive, it was the visitors who started the brighter under the Cardiff City Stadium floodlights. An early drive for the line from George Turner was halted only by the referee’s whistle, whilst Kyle Steyn’s soaring take saw the Scotland winger beat two defenders and make good ground in midfield.
Their early pressure was almost rewarded with the game’s opening try on nine minutes, the result of some slick handling in the 22. It was Rory Darge who sparked the move, racing into Dragons territory after a turnover on halfway before recycling possession. Quick ball saw the play shifted out wide, before eye-catching hands from Adam Hastings and Cole Forbes saw Nick Grigg dive over in the corner. However, an earlier infringement was called down to the referee by the TMO, and the try was chalked off.
Instead, it was the Dragons who struck first. Successive penalties saw the hosts launch a strike play from a lineout inside the Glasgow 22, from which Aneurin Owen was able to dive over for the score. Sam Davies converted, and the Welsh side led 7-0 after 13 minutes.
Davies extended his side’s lead with a penalty as the match’s opening quarter drew to a close, as Glasgow were penalised for not rolling away on their own 10 metre line. It was a marker that Ross Thompson cancelled out with aplomb on 26 minutes, the Glasgow fly-half finally registering the points his side’s possession had deserved with a penalty from 45 metres.
Thompson’s kick seemed to sting the Dragons into action, as the home side set about hammering away at the Glasgow defensive line inside the 22. However, a resolute defensive shift saw the visitors repel all attempts to breach the line, with Davies eventually settling for a drop-goal to restore the 10-point gap.
With four minutes left in the half, though, the Warriors finally found their way through a stubborn Dragons rearguard. A no-arms tackle on Turner saw referee Chris Busby play advantage, from which Sam Johnson and Hastings combined to send Steyn over in the corner. Thompson’s conversion attempt rattled the uprights, but Glasgow were the team with the momentum.

Yet just when the Dragons thought they would reach the interval with their lead intact, the Warriors clicked in trademark fashion. A superb line break from Turner saw the hooker feed Scott Cummings, whose offload found Ali Price roaring up in support. The scrum-half in turn turned a sublime offload back inside to Turner, before one final offload sent Thompson racing over next to the uprights. The conversion was a simple one, and Glasgow led 15-13 at the break.
A fired-up Glasgow started the second half as they finished the first, extending their lead on their first visit to the Dragons 22. After a well-worked try from Forbes was ruled out for a knock-on in the build-up, an earlier penalty saw Thompson kick to the corner. From a short-range lineout, Turner found Cummings before rumbling over for the try, Thompson converting superbly from the touchline for a 22-13 advantage.
There was no doubt as to who had the upper hand now, as Glasgow exerted the pressure upon their hosts in all facets of the game. Only the TMO could prevent Price from dotting down for the bonus-point score on 52 minutes, as a crossing offence in midfield denied the British and Irish Lion’s excellent snipe around the breakdown.
The match was being played nearly exclusively in the Dragons half, with another darting run from Price pinning Rio Dyer in his own corner and Darge continuously carrying hard into contact. Yet the visitors knew that they needed to remain on their guard defensively, Steyn epitomising this attitude with a shot on Ioan Davies that had the Glasgow replacements on their feet.
The home side were not about to go down without a fight, however. Slowly but surely the Dragons were rediscovering their feet as the game entered its final 10 minutes. Another Davies penalty cut the gap to six points, setting up an edgy finale to proceedings.
With just seventy seconds to play, though, the all-important bonus-point try was finally delivered. A break from Hastings and a pinpoint looping pass over the top saw Rufus McLean race up the touchline, before lifting the ball to perfection into the arms of McDonald. A first Glasgow try for the second-rower, and what a time to score it.
live commentary 7:35 PM Saturday 29 May 2021
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Dragons
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Jamie Roberts
23. Replacement0metres made
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Evan Lloyd
22. Replacement0metres made
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Dan Babos
21. Replacement0metres made
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Taine Basham
20. Replacement13metres made
19MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
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Joseph Davies
19. Replacement4metres made
26MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Aaron Jarvis
18. Replacement0metres made
19MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Josh Reynolds
17. Replacement3metres made
14MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Elliot Dee
16. Replacement10metres made
33MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
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Aaron Wainwright
8. Number 817metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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Ollie Griffiths
7. Back-row7metres made
61MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
4COMPLETE PASSES
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Ross Moriarty
6. Back-row15metres made
72MINUTES PLAYED
11TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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Ben Carter
5. Second-row2metres made
54MINUTES PLAYED
11TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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Matthew Screech
4. Second-row25metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
10TACKLES MADE
4COMPLETE PASSES
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Lloyd Fairbrother
3. Tighthead prop7metres made
61MINUTES PLAYED
9TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Richard Hibbard
2. Hooker0metres made
47MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Brok Harris
1. Loosehead prop2metres made
66MINUTES PLAYED
9TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Gonzalo Bertranou
9. Scrum-half37metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
5TACKLES MADE
86COMPLETE PASSES
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Sam Davies
10. Stand-off6metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
26COMPLETE PASSES
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Rio Dyer
11. Wing10metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
7TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Aneurin Owen
12. Inside-centre12metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
12TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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Jack Dixon
13. Outside-centre24metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
7TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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Jonah Holmes
14. Wing3metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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Ioan Davies
15. Full-back74metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
Glasgow Warriors
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Adam Hastings
15. Full-back78metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
12COMPLETE PASSES
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Kyle Steyn
14. Wing51metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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Nick Grigg
13. Outside-centre15metres made
61MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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Sam Johnson
12. Inside-centre31metres made
71MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
7COMPLETE PASSES
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Cole Forbes
11. Wing55metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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Ross Thompson
10. Stand-off14metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
15COMPLETE PASSES
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Ali Price
9. Scrum-half22metres made
65MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
50COMPLETE PASSES
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Aki Seiuli
1. Loosehead prop10metres made
65MINUTES PLAYED
13TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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George Turner
2. Hooker40metres made
56MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
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Zander Fagerson
3. Tighthead prop7metres made
70MINUTES PLAYED
11TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
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Rob Harley
4. Second-row0metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
9TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Scott Cummings
5. Second-row19metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
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5COMPLETE PASSES
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Ryan Wilson
6. Back-row2metres made
61MINUTES PLAYED
11TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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Rory Darge
7. Back-row37metres made
79MINUTES PLAYED
16TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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Matt Fagerson
8. Number 825metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
16TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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Fraser Brown
16. Replacement0metres made
24MINUTES PLAYED
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4COMPLETE PASSES
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Tom Lambert
17. Replacement3metres made
15MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Enrique Pieretto Heiland
18. Replacement2metres made
10MINUTES PLAYED
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1COMPLETE PASSES
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Kiran McDonald
19. Replacement8metres made
19MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Fotu Lokotui
20. Replacement0metres made
1MINUTES PLAYED
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George Horne
21. Replacement3metres made
15MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
14COMPLETE PASSES
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Stafford McDowall
22. Replacement2metres made
9MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Rufus McLean
23. Replacement21metres made
19MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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