Dragons 49 – 28 Edinburgh
Forget aerial ping-pong, there was try ping-pong on Sunday as Edinburgh went looking for four tries at Rodney Parade and got them – but forgot the part about not letting in seven in return. Despite a joyful attacking spirit from both teams, it was more a case of sloppy defence all round really with most of the tries resulting from errors, but the Dragons seemed to have more hunger for the result and a frightening ability to get round Edinburgh’s much larger wingers. Houston and Ben Cairns looked dangerous in midfield towards the end but try-scorer of the season Tim Visser only seemed to get the ball once and would have scored a try if he had just let the ball bounce in his direction instead of pushing his smaller opponent to the floor and giving away a penalty. The pack led by Ford and Chunk were dominant for periods, earning a penalty try and an easy catch and drive score from the 22 but without Roddy Grant the back row did not look quite so industrious as they have this season.
The usual raft of ineffectual substitutions mid second-half proved once again Edinburgh’s depth at the tail end of this season is not what it might be at the start of next season with the likes of Hogg and Paterson back and perhaps a new face or two. Indeed, next season is where Moffatt’s attention will soon turn, as Edinburgh realistically slip out of contention while the resurgent Dragons are now themselves back in the playoff hunt – cue a parade for the eponymous Rodney.
