Dragons XV Head Coach Luke Narraway called on his team to be ‘a little bit braver’ after a narrow derby defeat to Cardiff Blues A in the Celtic Cup.
Wing Daf Howells (2), prop Ryan Bevington, scrum half Tavis Knoyle and scrum half Rhodri Williams all crossed the whitewash as Dragons played a full part in a 40-31 defeat.
Narraway admitted his team had played well in spells in the capital and urged them to now be braver and still to the style of high tempo, attacking rugby no matter what the situation.
“We just need to be a little bit braver,” he said. “That’s not brave as in putting your head somewhere you don’t want to, it’s playing.
“Our brand of rugby and our DNA is going to be high-tempo, attacking rugby and sometimes where the pressure comes on through the scoreline you can go away from playing.
“That can be the easiest option and you can go into your shell, whereas as a group we need to realise our strengths and be brave enough to play to them even if it’s a 9-9 game.
“If we can get there, be brave and stay true to our strengths then hopefully we can win more than we lose.”
“here were a lot of positives, even though we are disappointed that we lost,” he added.
“One thing that I have asked from the under-23s and Dean Ryan has asked from the seniors is that we want to see a transfer from the training field onto the pitch and that we want to test what we have been working on.
“We got that, it’s never perfect but we saw a lot of transfer and when we get it right we look extremely dangerous.
“We are all singing from the same hymn sheet and at this point of the season it’s about practicing things at competition level, testing them and see what works and what we can improve on for the start of the PRO14.
“Overall we were happy with what we saw, there is stuff to improve on as with every game but there was some really good stuff out there.”
Dragons XV now play Scarlets in the Celtic Cup on Saturday (kick-off 1pm) as part of a double header of action at Rodney Parade, with the senior team in action from 4pm.
And Narraway is looking forward to seeing ‘future stars and current stars’ in action in one day.
“One thing that we are trying to do is not have a them and us with the under-23s and the first team at the Dragons,” he said.
“Whether you are 18 or 35 we are under one banner and we are one team with everyone striving to go in the right direction.
“It doesn’t matter who is on the pitch, we will review this together as we did after Munster, young and old, and will learn and grow together.
“The double header is brilliant; we’ve got the numbers there for the Scarlets with some younger players that missed out against the Blues,” he concluded.
“It will be great to get out at Rodney Parade again and put two games on, future stars and current stars.”
Dean Ryan's Dragons squad will fine tune their preparations for the new season by taking on Scarlets at Rodney Parade this Saturday (September 14).
The double-header clash with the west Walians, will kick off from 1pm as the two teams meet in a Celtic Cup contest, followed by the senior pre-season fixture at 4pm, in a true test of squad strength.
Last time the two teams met, they served up a 66-point epic at the Principality Stadium as the Men of Gwent recorded a first Judgement Day victory.
Adult tickets are priced £10 and under 16s £5. Buy in advance to save on match day ticket prices, with adult ticket prices on the day £12. Click HERE to buy online or call the Ticket Office today on 01633 674990.
Our brand of rugby and our DNA is going to be high-tempo, attacking rugby and sometimes where the pressure comes on through the scoreline you can go away from playing...
