Ribbans score double as Northampton Saints complete 21-33 win over Dragons

Dragons 21-33 Northampton Saints, Rodney Parade
Scorecard

Northampton Saints bounced back from their defeat to Clermont Auvergne as they defeated Dragons 21-33 in their European Challenge Cup encounter at Rodney Parade on Friday.

The win has taken the Saints to the third position in the Pool 1 table with Clermont set to face Timisoara Saracens in the weekend.

Northampton Saints were attacking from the start and the pressure they built eventually worked as David Ribbans went over the line in the 5th minute and Dan Biggar kicked the conversion. Dragons almost got off the mark when Rhodri Williams intercepted inside his own 22 but did not quite go over the line.

However, the visitors doubled their tally when Biggar set up scrum-half Alex Mitchell for his side's second try before kicking another conversion. In an eventful half-hour mark, referee Mathieu Raynal awarded Saints a penalty try and sin-binned two Dragons players.

First it was Lewis Evans, who was yellow carded and a minute later Adam Warren joined his team-mate after he tried to pull down a rolling maul. It meant Northampton had a 0-21 lead heading into the break.

The momentum swung a bit when Northampton lost Biggar with a rib injury and Dragons gathered pace with a try from Elliot Dee in the 45th minute getting them off the mark and Josh Lewis followed with a conversion. But, Northampton soon claimed a bonus point with Ribbans diving from close range in the 49th minute.

Even though, the home side had a decent final quarter with tries from Jarryd Sage (64') and a penalty try in the final minute, Northampton completed a convincing 21-33 win with Cobus Reinach scoring their fifth try in the 70th minute.