Boss Dean Ryan admitted his Dragons needed to show more composure after a dramatic 20-20 draw with Ospreys in the Guinness PRO14 at the Liberty Stadium.
Wing Ashton Hewitt dived over in the final minute to complete his own try brace and snatch two points for Ryan’s men – after Leon Brown had also scored in the first half.
Ryan admitted his team has showed some inexperience in the way they tried to force proceedings against an Ospreys team who were reduced to 14-men for much of the fixture after George North’s red card.
However, the Director of Dragons Rugby insisted it was just good to be back talking about rugby after almost six months without a game.
“The red card just made us try and make every play the big play, we just lost composure,” he said.
“When the opposition get a red card you just make them work so hard that in the last 10 or 15 minutes you can walk it over the line.
“We showed some of our inexperience in trying to make every play; we made some great breaks and then the ball would come flying back instead of just recycling to go.
“That was some of our exuberance, it’s been a long time since we played and lots of people would have wanted to make that play.
“Credit to Ospreys,” he added. “You look at Stephen Myler and the way he shut the game down when it goes into a kicking contest. We need to be better at that.
“We dropped a lot of ball and gave them opportunities to stay higher up the field. If we take those chances, we build more pressure and get more chances.
“Ultimately, when we do move, we look very dangerous. It’s just getting that balance right, putting pressure on another side and seeing moments when we get a great opportunity.”
Dragons last played in March when they faced Benetton and now finish their Guinness PRO14 campaign against the Scarlets at Rodney Parade on Saturday.
And with the European Challenge Cup quarter-final with Bristol Bears looking large on the horizon in September, Ryan was keen to take the positives from Swansea.
“If this was a pre-season game, I would be talking really positively and I’m not going to lose that just because it’s a local derby,” said Ryan.
“I am pretty pleased with some of the performances –some of the young guys had never played at that intensity against the likes of Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric.”
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We dropped a lot of ball and gave them opportunities to stay higher up the field. If we take those chances, we build more pressure and get more chances...
