Dragons fall short of first league victory in a year following dramatic finish

The Dragons narrowly missed out on a first league victory in a year as they were held to a 17-17 draw by the Sharks at Rodney Parade.

First-half tries from Aaron Wainwright and Angus O'Brien, as well as the boot of Tinus de Beer, had kept Filo Tiatia's side in the hunt for their first victory in the United Rugby Championship since September 21, 2024 - when they defeated the Ospreys on the opening day of last season.

However, despite an opportunity to win it after the clock had gone red, the Dragons couldn't get over the line.

It was the Sharks who has started the Dragons' lengthy losing run in the league, winning in dramatic fashion at Rodney Parade last year with an 85th-minute try.

It looked as though the roles would be reversed in the dying embers of this one, only for the Dragons to fall short of a winning score.

In difficult conditions, the South African side had opened the scoring, with Springbok second-row Marvin Orie - who once spent some time with the Ospreys - forcing his way over from close range.

To their credit, the Dragons responded well to that early blow.

Debutant Fetuli Paea made huge in-roads into the Sharks defence from a lineout, before fly-half Tinus de Beer put Wainwright through a gap, with the Wales No. 8 showing great pace to finish the move.

A Jean Smith penalty moved the Sharks back in-front, only for Tonga international Paea to make another big impact.

The centre cut through the Sharks defence from another lineout, bouncing off would-be tacklers before giving Angus O'Brien the try-scoring pass when it looked like the Dragons' summer signing could have easily scored himself.

Vincent Tshituka's score just before half-time denied the Dragons a lead at the break.

The Dragons appeared to have wrestled