Dragons beat Zebre for first away URC win in four years

United Rugby Championship

Zebre (3) 18

Tries: Di Bartolomeo, Locatelli Cons: Da Re Pens: Da Re 2

Dragons (7) 19

Tries: J Rosser, Carter, Richards Cons: O'Brien 2

Dragons will go into their Challenge Cup semi-final in high spirits after David Richards' last-minute winner at Zebre in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

The Rodney Parade team ended their four-year wait for an away league win thanks to the wing diving over with the clock in the red.

Dragons led 7-3 at half-time thanks to a try by wing Jared Rosser, but Zebre responded soon after the restart through hooker Tommaso di Bartolomeo.

In a low-quality game, lock Ben Carter put the visitors back in front after 67 minutes only for Samuele Locatelli to respond almost immediately.

However, Dragons stole the victory with the final play to repeat their quarter-final victory at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

It was their first away win in the URC since beating Scarlets in Llanelli in April 2022 and their first outside Wales since success at Connacht in October 2021.

Dragons, who finished bottom of the URC for the first time last season, climb above Scarlets into 14th in the battle to avoid being Wales' worst-performing side this season.

Crucially, their key figures appear to have come through unscathed before the semi-final at Montpellier on Sunday, 3 May.

Zebre, meanwhile, look destined to finish bottom of the table given that they finish the season in South Africa against Bulls and Sharks.

After losing in the last minute at Edinburgh in round 15, history repeated for the Italians.

Dragons racked up the penalties in the opening quarter, but the only score came from the boot of Zebre fly-half Giacomo Da Re.

After plenty of huffing and puffing by the Italians, the visitors hit the front with a slick attack with fly-half Tinus de Beer and flanker Thomas Young combining down the left to put wing Rosser over.

It should have been 14-3 in the 34th minute only for ex-Zebre centre Fetuli Paea to knock on when reaching out for the tryline on his return to Parma.

The hosts failed to fire in the first half but two minutes after the restart hooker Di Bartolomeo went over from a driving line-out, with Dragons lock Levi Douglas also sin-binned for his illegal effort to stop it.

After blowing one golden opportunity in the 22 through obstruction, Zebre moved 11-7 ahead through a De Re penalty, but continued to flounder in attack.

Dragons had thoughts of the semi-final in the back of their minds, but remained in touch in the final quarter.

They regained the lead in the 68th minute when lock Carter crashed over from a quick tap, only for Zebre to swiftly respond with their own seven-pointer thanks to Locatelli's powerful finish after a line break by Giovanni Montemauri.

Flanker Thomas Young was held up over the line in the 79th minute, but Dragons still had one last attack and made it count.

Playing with penalty advantage, the ball was flung to the right where De Beer slapped the ball superbly for Richards to dive over for the winner.

Dragons co-captain Angus O'Brien said: "We knew it was going to be tough after we came here two weeks ago in the European competition.

"Zebre put up a massive performance but I am proud of how we fought until the very last minute.

"That's two of the last four games that we have won with the last play and that shows the character and grit of this team."

How they lined up

Zebre: Montemauri; Faissal, Bertaccini, Mazza, Gesi; Da Re, Fusco; Buonfiglio, Di Bartolomeo, Neculai, Canali, Krumov, Ortombina, Odiase, Licata.

Replacements: Klein, Hasa, Nocera, Stavile, Locatelli, Dominguez, Zanon, Trulla.

Dragons: O'Brien (co-capt); Richards, Paea, Owen, J Rosser; de Beer, R Williams; Martinez, Coghlan, Lewis, Douglas, Carter (co-capt), Lewis-Hughes, Young, Wainwright.

Replacements: Dee, R Jones, James, Screech, S Davies, M Lloyd, Ackerman, Anderson.

Yellow cards: Douglas (42)

Referee: Ru Campbell (SRU)

Assistants: Gianlucca Gnecchi & Lorenzo Pedezzi (FIR)

TMO: Colin Brett (SRU)