Back row ace Taine Basham vowed to keep his feet on the ground after his hat-trick heroics in the European Challenge Cup win over Castres – insisting his focus is purely on improving as a player.
Basham grabbed a first half treble as Top 14 giants Castres were stunned in the Pool 1 opener at Rodney Parade.
The 20-year-old won the man-of-the-match award and plaudits for his Euro display.
However, the Dragons Academy product was keen to look at where both he and the team could improve before the next game with Russian outfit Enisei-STM in Krasnador on Friday.
“I’m just focusing on getting better as a player and improving my game week in, week out and if I impress then that’s great,” said Basham.
“In previous years I’ve just been really focused on attack plays, but in training I’ve been trying hard to get better in defence and be that all round player that you need to be to play higher levels.
“Dean (Ryan) is a great coach, he doesn’t just let you go through the motions, he wants you to improve and get this region better and he’s focusing on people driving the region to get better.
“We’ve got a strong back row at Dragons and all you can do is just push yourself and the boys for places and improve your game.
On the performance, he added: “We’re happy with the result but there’s parts in our performance we can improve on. “We fronted up in parts through the second half and we can be happy with the result.
“They are a big team, it was a big win and we can only learn from it and move on.”
Dragons are next at home when they tackle Zebre in the Guinness PRO14 at Rodney Parade on Saturday, November 30. Can Dean Ryan's men make it a hat-trick of wins on home soil? Click HERE to buy online or call the Ticket Office NOW on 01633 674990 to take advantage of Early Bird savings.
We’ve got a strong back row at Dragons and all you can do is just push yourself and the boys for places and improve your game...
