By Jeff D'Andrea

Dragons disappointed in defensive draw

May 11, 2017 | 8:29 PM

The Saskatchewan Rivers Dragons are still technically undefeated through three games of high school rugby action, but not exactly in the way they’d like.

They drew against the Saskatoon Wallabies in a 5-5 slugfest Thursday evening in the Dragons home opener at Max Clunie Field, despite beating the Wallabies in their season debut last week. The Dragons are now 2-0-1 on the season.

“There were a lot of good things on the field, but we made a lot of mistakes,” Dragons coach Darcy Murphy said. “We were flat in a lot of ways, but we made up for it by being a little aggressive. A tie’s better than a loss, but I’d like to carry the momentum into the week and get better for next week.”

The Dragons found themselves down 5-0 after the opening half. Dealing with both penalties and turnovers, the Dragons were forced to defend their own goal line for the majority of the opening frame. They had just one significant possession in the Wallabies’ territory, shortly after kickoff.

“The mistakes put us in our own end. For 10 minutes there, we were lucky to hold the score,” Murphy said. “We did that by playing aggressive rugby, typical P.A. rugby. We can play that game, however, if we can get more strategic and move the ball a little more effectively, we can play in their end.”

Safety first

Safety concerns and tips surrounding discarded needles in P.A.

14h ago

Liquor stores must change hours

Prince Albert limits liquor store hours

17h ago

skin care +

LUXE22 Clinic : Elevating Beauty with Expert Treatments

18h ago

The Dragons responded right after the whistle marking the start of the second half, getting within a yard of the try line before losing possession in a ruck.

The Dragons were finally able to find their first try after providing a ton of pressure on the Wallabies with Jesse Mourot punching it in about 60 minutes into the game. As it turned out, that would be the last score of the game. Neither team made good on their convert attempts, with the Wallabies also missing a penalty goal in the first half.

“We had a breather at half-time and we discussed a few things just to calm the boys down and get some of the fundamentals back,” Murphy said. “We did get some of the momentum back right away, but this was our game to lose today. It was a tie. I’m expecting better things next week.”

Dragons back Garrett Simpson did not finish the game and he found himself at the bottom of a tackle and needed to be tended due by the paramedics. Murphy believed Simpson suffered a shoulder injury and said he was headed to the doctor’s to get it checked out after the match.

The Dragons will take the field for the next week in a battle against the All Blacks in Saskatoon next Thursday.

Jeff D’Andrea is paNOW’s sports reporter. He can be reached at jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca or tweet him @jeff_paNOW.