Dragons fall short of upset victory as Montpellier reach Challenge Cup final

The Dragons went down fighting as their dream of reaching the Challenge Cup final ended with an 18-12 defeat by Montpellier.

Top 14 title challengers Montpellier will face Ulster in the competition’s showpiece in Bilbao on May 22, but they were left clinging on in the closing stages of their semi-final at Septeo Stadium.

Aneurin Owen claimed his second try in the 73rd minute to leave the Dragons, who are positioned third from bottom in the United Rugby Championship, a converted try away from springing a dramatic upset.

But their fightback stopped short of delivering the decisive score despite a late series of attacks.

The Dragons should have crossed just seconds into the game after executing a line-out move with precision, but Dai Richards’ final pass to Thomas Young was poor and the moment was gone.

Thomas Vincent landed a penalty to draw first blood and then Auguste Cadot was held up over the line by a brilliant tackle from Rio Dyer after Montpellier had broken from deep.

But there was no stopping the hosts in the 25th minute when slick handling forced a gap for Tyler DuGuid to maraud over, rewarding a spell of sustained pressure.

The Dragons, conquerors of Stade Francais in the round of 16, hit back with an opportunistic try by Owen after full-back Tom Banks made a mess of dealing with a kick into the dead-ball zone.

Vincent rifled over three points having missed an earlier shot at goal as Montpellier opened up a 13-5 interval lead and they began the second half with a sustained assault on the visitors.

The Dragons showed mettle to defend a line-out drive close to their own line and they advanced downfield, threatening in the left corner and benefiting from Nika Abuladze being sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on.

But Montpellier went over in their next attack with scrum-half Alexis Bernadet, who had been a threat all afternoon, sniping over from close range.

Even at 18-5 up the French heavyweights could not pull clear as Owen stormed over for his second try as the Dragons struck from a line-out.

The visitors staged one last attack but it was well defended as the upset victory slipped from their fingertips.