Dean Ryan urged his Dragons to keep moving and keep learning in 2021 - after they ended the year with a narrow defeat to Cardiff Blues.
Dragons lost out 13-12 in horrendous conditions to their regional rivals in the opening game of a busy festive period that will also see an away game at Scarlets on Friday (New Year’s Day) before facing Ospreys on home soil.
It has been several weeks of disruption for Dragons after late changes in games with Wasps and Bordeaux-Begles in Europe.
Dragons were also again without a number of players for the derby with Blues on home soil.
However, Ryan is not looking for excuses and has instead called on his team to keep moving forward as they look to kick-off 2021 with victory.
“Europe wasn’t what we wanted it to be because the Saturday morning before Wasps it took a very different turn,” he said.
“Since then, we have been reacting to that; we haven’t really had consistent training and a consistent group.
“Full credit to the team for getting on there (against Cardiff Blues) and getting it as competitive as it was.
“We see every game as going as fully loaded as we can and Scarlets will be no different.
“I think our behaviour over the last two to three weeks has shown that we have done everything to hold the integrity of the competitions we are involved in,” he added.
“We have seen it as an area to learn, whether you are a 19-year-old kid or a 35-year-old player coming in.
“We’re disappointed that other people haven’t done that, especially around Europe, and we have maybe paid the penalty for that. We’ve got injuries form Bordeaux and all sorts of challenges from that.
“For us it is about keep moving, keep learning and being thankful for getting out and playing some rugby.
“These are tough times for everyone at the moment and we are fortunate that we can get out and do what we enjoy.”
These are tough times for everyone at the moment and we are fortunate that we can get out and do what we enjoy...
