Dragons No.8 Joe Bearman gave another eye catching performance to put his hand up for national selection with a try in the final minute to deny Connacht a losing bonus point at Rodney Parade.
Bearman created a first half try for fellow back rower James Harris when he broke from a scum and flipped the ball behind his back for the flanker to crash over. The Cornishman, who now qualifies for Wales on residency grounds, then sealed victory for the home side when he slid over after a 30m run to the try line as the final whistle was about to blow.
With Ryan Jones and Andy Powell already in the mix for the Welsh No8 jersey, Bearman’s consistent performances have surely added his name to the list of possibilities as Warren Gatland mulls over his options.
In trying conditions, James Arlidge gave the Dragons an ideal start with a penalty in the third minute. The Dragons camped inside Connacht’s half and eventually set up the first try in the 16th minute for Harris. With Arlidge adding the extras, the home side had a comfortable 10-0 lead.
Connacht hit back with fly half Miah Nikora cutting back inside and eluding Arlidge to glide over under the posts. Nikora’s conversion brought the score to 10-7. The kicking duel between the fly half’s continued as they both succeeded with a penalty each before halftime.
Shaun Connor came on for Arlidge and used his boot to peg Connacht back in deteriorating conditions. He slotted a penalty to ease the Dragons further ahead and with the final kick of the match landed a touchline conversion to Bearman’s try.
