Dragons 17-22 Edinburgh: Dai Flanagan's side throw away commanding lead on opening day

The Dragons let slip a commanding lead as they fell victim to the metronomic boot of Ben Healy to begin their United Rugby Championship campaign with a home defeat to Edinburgh.

Dai Flanagan's side have not won at home in the URC for a year, and this was a game they really should have won considering they held a 13-point lead at one stage. The Dragons played their visitors off the park for the first hour but lacked the killer instinct needed to win games at this level, while they were made to pay by Edinburgh number 10 Healy who kicked 17 points.

They made a near perfect start with Angus O'Brien attacking the line before offloading to Jared Rosser who sliced through the Edinburgh defence. Just as he neared the line Rosser found Sio Tomkinson who touched down for the opening try with Cai Evans adding the conversion.

The Dragons had the bit between their teeth with their forwards holding the upper hand. They lay siege to the Edinburgh try line with a series of pick and goes, but after failing to force their wat over the line a well-timed cross-kick from Steff Hughes found Corey Baldwin who touched down for their second try.

The Dragons were constantly challenging Edinburgh's defence with O'Brien and Hughes consistently putting players through gaps but they weren't quite clinical enough to take the opportunities they had created. On one occasion the home side had a five metre lineout only for Wales hooker Bradley Roberts to get penalised for not throwing the ball into the lineout straight.

The only score Edinburgh could muster over the course of the first forty minutes was three points from Healy's boot, and the Dragons must have felt comfortable turning around with a 14-3 lead. Flanagan's side began the second-half with plenty