British & Irish Cup Rugby: Dundee HSFP 5 - 11 Swansea

Published on 20/01/2013 00:14

DUNDEE High were condemned to fourth place in Pool 3 of the British and Irish Cup after failing to beat 14-man Swansea in the sixth and final group game, writes Jack Nixon at Mayfield.

Dundee will be kicking themselves for missing three straightforward kicks at goal in the first half, and one in the second period when the visitors were reduced to 14 men after flanker Matthew Davies had thrown a punch two minutes into the half.

The normally reliable Jack Steele, the club’s top points scorer, missed three, while replacement centre Jamie Urquhart failed with a 40-metre effort early in the second half when blizzard conditions were making it difficult to see far less kick. Dundee were in the ascendancy for most of the game, but it was the smarter, streetwise Swansea side who looked the more likely to open the scoring, which they did through a penalty from full back Nicky J Thomas in the three minutes before sheer pressure of numbers took the home side over line on the half-hour mark.

No.8 Richie McIver started and finished the move, but Steele was unable to convert.

Thomas made the homesters pay for two further misses, kicking an additional penalty, but failing to convert hooker Scott Otten’s try just on the stroke of half time, giving the Swans an 11-5 lead at the break.

The second half was pointless and remembered for the Davies red card, the driving snow and incessant pressure from the Taysiders.