Headline
Sponsor
JOIN THE FLIGHT

Flashback: O'Brien haul defeats Edinburgh

11/02/2021

Ahead of Sunday’s Guinness Pro14 game against Edinburgh Rugby at the Principality Stadium, we turn back the clock for a #ThrowbackThursday and look back at our victory over Edinburgh in 2016….

Dragons 27-19 Edinburgh Rugby – November 27th, 2016

Angus O'Brien scored 17 points as Dragons leapt over opponents Edinburgh in the Guinness PRO12 table with victory at Rodney Parade.

Carl Meyer, Sam Hobbs and Angus O'Brien crossed in a ten-minute first-half purple patch, with O'Brien's boot making it 24-12 at the break.

Edinburgh's Nasi Manu and Chris Dean got first-half tries and Viliame Mata's late score made it close.

But O'Brien's 78th-minute penalty sealed the win.

Edinburgh's snappy early handling paid off in the 10th minute as number eight Manu took advantage of a huge overlap following a break by wing Mike Allen, Jason Tovey converting against his former team.

But O'Brien quickly pulled back a penalty and converted after Meyer tore through from 30 metres, following a superb steal by hooker Thomas Rhys Thomas from the back of an Edinburgh maul.

Prop Hobbs crashed over from close range - with O'Brien again converting - but moments later Dean finished off another fluid move from the visitors' back-line.

O'Brien made it four tries in 10 minutes, setting up the score, finishing it off from Sam Beard's kick through and adding the extras after 27 minutes.

It took a further 37 minutes for the next score to arrive, with both head coaches making a string of replacements to try to break the deadlock.

Phil Burleigh came close after a Blair Kinghorn break, but giant replacement Mata rumbled over with Duncan Weir's conversion setting up a tense finale.

Tyler Morgan's break almost allowed the Dragons to hit back only for Damian Hoyland to pull off a vital interception, before the roles were reversed at the other end as Morgan intercepted Hoyland.

O'Brien sent over the late penalty to earn the Dragons' fourth successive home win in all competitions, leaving an enterprising Edinburgh side to travel home pointless despite sharing the six tries.

Dragons: Carl Meyer; Pat Howard, Sam Beard, Jack Dixon, Ashton Hewitt; Angus O'Brien, Tavis Knoyle; Sam Hobbs, Thomas Rhys Thomas, Brok Harris, Nick Crosswell, Matthew Screech, Lewis Evans (capt), Ollie Griffiths, Ed Jackson

Replacements: Rhys Buckley, Phil Price, Lloyd Fairbrother, James Thomas, Nic Cudd, Sarel Pretorius, Geraint Rhys Jones, Tyler Morgan

Edinburgh: Blair Kinghorn; Damien Hoyland, Chris Dean, Phil Burleigh, Michael Allen; Jason Tovey, Sean Kennedy; Jack Cosgrove, Neil Cochrane (capt), Murray McCallum, Fraser McKenzie, Ben Toolis, Magnus Bradbury, Jamie Ritchie, Nasi Manu

Replacements: Stuart McInally, Kyle Whyte, Felipe Arregui, Lewis Carmichael, Viliame Mata, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Duncan Weir, Glenn Bryce

Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU)

OFFICIAL SPONSORS
Would you like to be part of our success? FIND OUT MORE
Headline Sponsor
Primary Partners