Jack Dixon believes playing with freedom has helped Dragons move in the right direction as the countdown to the new Guinness PRO14 season gathers pace.
Dixon was named man-of-the-match as Dean Ryan’s men claimed an impressive 34-17 win over Scarlets in pre-season on Saturday afternoon.
It is now less than two weeks until the season opener as Dragons face Munster in Ireland on Saturday, September 28.
And the centre believes having the confidence to go out and express themselves is paying dividends for the team.
“It was a good pre-season game for all the boys,” he said. “Dean (Ryan) just said before the game to go out and enjoy it, to go out and play a bit of attacking rugby because it was a beautiful day for it.
“That’s what we did, scoring a few tries and coming away with the win.
“Dean has come in and taken all the weight off our shoulders,” he added.
“He has said to the boys to worry about our own jobs and that he will deal with all of the other stuff, that we just have to go out there and play rugby.
“Not many coaches give you that licence and it’s nice to hear, and it showed in our performance against the Scarlets.
“He is still getting to know us as players and people, it is still early days, but I feel that we are going in the right direction.
“It’s going to be tough for all of us, but we have worked hard in pre-season and are going well so far.
“It’s been a long summer, but all the coaches have planned it really well and we are just getting to the peak of our fitness now.”
Dragons are back on home soil on Friday, October 11 when they tackle Connacht in the Guinness PRO14. Click HERE to buy online and take your seat for all the action.
Dean has come in and taken all the weight off our shoulders...
