Back row dynamo Ollie Griffiths admits Dragons need to ’learn fast’ as they prepare to face more Irish power this weekend at Rodney Parade.
Dean Ryan’s men welcome Munster Rugby in the Guinness PRO14 on Sunday (kick-off 2pm) – the third Irish province they have faced this season.
Dragons went down 40-17 to Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium last weekend as, despite a strong second half, the visitors were outgunned in the opening period.
And Griffiths, who made his return in Belfast, believes Munster will pose a similar proposition that Dragons must be ready to deal with.
“We need to learn and we need to learn fast,” said the 25-year-old. “Munster will be the same as Ulster and will bring the same sort of threats - driving line out, big powerful ball carriers off nine.
“We need to sort that out before next week, especially being back home at Rodney Parade.
“We spoke about getting double tackles in, we were winning some collisions, but not necessarily slowing the ball down,” he added.
“We did it in patches, but certainly not consistent enough. We need to be consistent for 80 minutes, not just for 20.”
Griffiths played his first game since March in Ireland and impressed with 23 tackles, four turnovers, six carries and four offloads during an 80-minute masterclass.
“It’s nice to be back and get a full game under my belt, but obviously disappointed with the performance,” he said.
“The final score is a pretty significant loss and the things we said we were going to do we didn’t necessarily do. It is disappointing from that point of view, but it is nice to be back at the same time."
Griffiths has also thanked the Dragons physios in getting him to full fitness and being able to feel great after playing the full 80 minutes.
“It has been a while, but I never really struggled despite coming back after a long time out,” he stated.
“We have some great physios here, led by Ben Stirling, so it’s not as if I am going into games cold or struggling for match fitness.
“I’ve done a lot of work the last couple of months and I felt great out there to be honest.”
We spoke about getting double tackles in, we were winning some collisions, but not necessarily slowing the ball down...
