Forster was making a comeback after appendix surgery and showed plenty of guts to score in each half of the 43-point victory. The Dragons have 15 points and are poised behind Newcastle, on 17. They travel to Kingston Park next Sunday to take on the Falcons in a Pool 5 decider.
With Perpignan (on 15 points) travelling to Edinburgh and expected to win, Chris Anderson’s Dragons outfit know they need a victory to move into the final eight. Even a draw with a try bonus point will leave them on only 18 points. If Perpignan win in Scotland, the Dragons won’t have enough points to qualify as one of the two best Pool runners-up.
Man of the match Jamie Ringer is looking forward to going head to head with former Wales captain Colin Charvis in the mouth-watering match next weekend.
“We knew we needed to win with a bonus point and now we can go to Newcastle on Sunday with everything to play for,” said the son of former Wales cap Paul.
“Excitement-wise, this game could not have been any better – for the players and the fans. Everyone might be talking about Jonny Wilkinson, but Newcastle have so many good players you can’t worry about just one player.”
The Dragons made a storming start to the match and had secured a try bonus point after only half an hour. Wales three-quarter Hal Luscombe continued his fine run of form with a try in the corner in the 11th minute, before back rower Ringer made good ground to set up Forster for his first five-pointer.
Replacement winger Gareth Wyatt scored through an interception and promising lock Luke Charteris made it four when he pinched an Edinburgh throw-in to crash over the try-line. That virtually ended it as a contest but the Dragons’ fans had more tries to celebrate after the break, with Forster and Wyatt both getting second scores as Edinburgh were put to the sword, crashing to their fifth straight tournament defeat.
And the Dragons finished with a flourish and two more tries, Gareth Baber and Adam Black putting the icing on the cake.
