Dragons 39 Northampton Saints 43

Northampton Saints came back from 19 points down to earn a 43-39 victory against Dragons in the European Rugby Challenge Cup Round of 16 at Rodney Parade.

Wing Taqele Naiyaravoro was the hero of the piece. He touched down twice – including one in the final ten minutes – to secure the unlikeliest of comebacks for the visiting Gallagher Premiership side.

Ollie Sleightholme, Alex Mitchell, Teimana Harrison all touched down in the second half before Naiyaravoro and Tom Collins completed the turnaround with two tries in two minutes as the clock ticked down.

A brace from Ashton Hewitt and tries from Sam Davies, Matthew Screech and Leon Brown seemed to have kept the visitors at arms-length throughout the second half – but a 70th minute sin-bin for Dragons’ Eliott Dee proved to be the catalyst for Saints’ late dramatics.

It was Dragons who took the early advantage with a penalty from the boot of Davies before Hewitt opened his account for the afternoon. Jamie Roberts kicked through a tantalising grubber which Hewitt ruefully touched down.

Hewitt touched down for his second of the afternoon just after the half hour mark, scoring in the corner. That try came at a cost as the standout wing suffered a knee injury and was forced off the field.

Hopes of a Northampton comeback were ignited minutes before the interval. Quick-thinking from Naiyaravoro saw him glide through the Dragons’ defence untouched.

After the break it took a mere 25 seconds for Northampton to notch their second try of the afternoon. Naiyaravoro’s menacing run through the middle opened up the space, scrum-half Alex Mitchell carving open the Dragons with exquisite grubber into the path of Sleightholme to score.

Replacement Leon Brown extended the hosts lead once again with a try on 61 minutes. The basketball-like contest rumbled on as Saints responded within two minutes – No.8 Teimana Harrison scoring in the corner after some stunning passing rugby.

Eliott Dee’s late sin-binning gave Saints fresh impetus to claw victory from defeat, and Naiyaravoro’s walk-in try seven minutes from time reduced the deficit to three before Collins completed the remarkable comeback.

Our next classic match from last season features the Round of 16 clash between Dragons and Northampton Saints, with the English side coming out on top in remarkable fashion.