Dragons 16 Munster 26

How did the Dragons come to lose this game?
Easily, in the end.
The chronology of the game is mundane. The Dragons weathered an early assault by Munster, moved into a well deserved 16-0 lead, then proceeded to lose the game as inexperience and an absence of leadership overtook them, aided and abetted by a ref who followed momentum.
The Dragons started badly, looking disorganised from the kick off and struggling to keep Munster out. It was a fortunate start for the weakened Dragons that reminded neutral observers that this wasn't Munster at their full strength either. Watching Parkes and Aled Thomas open the door for Munster on the tackle line by both pursuing the same player was a terrifying reminder that under Paul Turner the Dragons have had to rely on scramble defence to make up for the sheer awfulness of their defence in the five eightth channel regardless of who's played there. Munster's failure to take the lead raised false hopes for many Dragons fans.

That the Dragons managed to claw their way back into the game was a tribute to the spine of the team. Steve Jones was combative and feisty, and Joe Bearman had his best game in a Dragons shirt, outpacing a sluggish and slow thinking Munster backrow at every turn. On the front foot Evans at scrum half, hauled on after Andy Williams' knee gave way, looked lively and bright. The Dragons try, when it came, was a copybook piece of multi phase play off a line out in the Munster 22, embellished by some neat cleaning out from Steve Jones and a dart from Evans that exposed the frailties of the Munster defence. It's part of the Dragons paradox that when they reel off one of the coaching team's set plays they can look superb, often within minutes of looking naive and disorganised.

The problem for the Dragons for much of the game was that they had absolutely no invention. The wingers stayed rooted to their wings and Gomar-Davies and Ash Smith had to try and step their way through a defence that a poor ref allowed to lie up offside all night. When Smith limped off to be replaced by Gareth Maule you got the impression that honest endeavour was never going to be enough to regularly unpick the Munster defence. Gareth Wyatt had a game of less influence than the average water carrier, even managing to win the 'least mobile back player of the night' award off the officially retired Shaun Payne. Parkes looked utterly unsuited to the link role between forward and backs that this game demanded, and floundered at times as he tried to work out how to do all that was necessary. The most dangerous option the Dragons had was Evans darting from free kicks and penalties, and the ref took that option away with a display of pedantry that was shameless in its stupidity.

Nevertheless the Dragons were looking to turn round 16-0 ahead courtesy of Evans' try and three Thomas penalties. That was before a Munster try that unpicked the Dragons defence far too easily and suggested a lack of concentration or fitness so close to the half time whistle. A second Munster try just after the break left the Dragons suddenly looking like rabbits in the headlights.

And yet, if the Dragons had been better led, they would have still been able to win this match. A brave breakout by Bearman, ably supported by Charteris, ended three metres from the Munster line where the Dragons couldn't finish the break off. A surprise rolling maul that Munster could only cynically drag down tempted the Dragons to spurn three points for a kick to the corner. The adept defusing of the attempted rolling maul by Munster was as predictable as the ref's unwillingness to follow up on his threatened yellow cards against Munster players offending in the 22.

By the end, after Warwick had picked off a poor pass for an interception try the Dragons looked inept. They were never the same team once Bearman went off, while Andrew Hall's departure ushered on Peter Sidoli for a cameo of such rivetting ordinariness that it was hard to notice he was there, save for the moment when he picked up from a ruck in a move so telegraphed that it was a wet copy of tomorrow's Argus he couldn't run through.

Unlucky teams sometimes lose games they should have won, but losing teams often blame luck when a long hard look at what they're trying to achieve would make more sense. An organised and robust ten man game from this Dragons pack could have secured this game; arguably the loss of Williams early on decided this game. Nevertheless it's hard to see this side winning more than they lose this season