Back row Lewis Evans admitted there would be a lot of ‘honest discussion’ for Dragons after the 38-14 defeat to Connacht Rugby at Rodney Parade.
Dean Ryan’s men made the perfect start as they led through a try from centre Tyler Morgan.
But as heavy rain fell the game slipped away to a powerful and muscular Connacht side that looked to dominate in the tight exchanges and set piece.
“We’re all massively disappointed. As a pack, we need to look back on that and reflect on it and see where we got outmuscled,” said Evans. “There is going to need to be a lot of honest discussion next week.
“Things went well last week, when it was a similar arm wrestle and grind. This week the conditions didn’t help us and we have come off second best.
“The short turnaround is no excuse. We came back from Italy with a win and we hoped to deliver something better than this, especially for the fans in our first game here.
“We can’t blame the conditions, but they certainly played the territorial game better than us. Then, when it came to it, in our 22 their driving maul killed us.”
Dragons showed plenty of late spirit, with back row Taine Basham going over for a try with the final play, and Evans insisted the endeavour would never stop.
“We’ve always said we will play for 80 or 85 minutes, no matter who we are playing against we will go out swinging,” said Evans.
“Owen (Jenkins) on the wing has been good for us and a nice bit Sevens flair helped for the try for Taine.
“That shows the intent we are going to try and play and there are going to be mistakes along the way.
“We need to be more composed and, as a team, play the conditions much better,” he added.
“It’s not a case of going back to the drawing board, but we have got to improve of what we’ve got.”
We need to be more composed and, as a team, play the conditions much better...
