Academy Coach Matt O’Brien and centre Oli Andrew both called on Dragons Under-18s to produce from the first whistle after a thrilling comeback win over Scarlets Under-18s at Ystrad Mynach.
Dragons found themselves 19-0 down at one point in the regional age grade clash at Ystrad Mynach but rallied to record a 36-26 win on home soil on Wednesday evening.
Ben Moa, Che Hope, Frankie Souto, Harry Jarvis and a brace from Morgan Lloyd - plus six points from the boot of full back Joe Westwood – wrapped up the win. But Backs Coach O’Brien admitted it had been a game of two halves.
“I thought it was a mixed performance,” admitted O’Brien. “First half we were quite sluggish and we went away from what we are good at.
“Second half we went back to what we know, playing fast, getting the ball to space and getting on the front foot. We looked a lot better.
“I’m fairly pleased again and looking forward to Sunday (against Cardiff Blues).
“It would be nice if we didn’t have to bring the other players on so early. But we needed energy,” he added.
“The boys that came on did really well and they made a good impact – the same as last week.”
O’Brien also praised scrum half duo Morgan Lloyd, who grabbed a try brace, and replacement Che Hope who also crossed the whitewash.
He said: “Morgan has been with the Under-18s for a couple of years and did really well off the bench last week (at Parc y Scarlets).
“It was a good performance for him and we also had the luxury of bringing Che (Hope) off the bench for 25 minutes.
“Both took their tries well, were excellent and made a big impact on the game.
“We’re looking forward to Sunday and Cardiff Blues,” he added. “We haven’t played them yet this year so it will be nice to have a change of scenery.
“I just hope we don’t have to wait 20 or 30 minutes before we get into our game. It’s another game and hopefully we will start a bit better."
O’Brien’s comments were mirrored by centre Andrew who felt Dragons had failed to hit the heights for a full 70-minute performance.
“We got the victory but we have so much more in us,” he said. “Even in the second half, we had so much more to give.
“It was a slow start but we go again Sunday and we need to start quicker. If we do that we can dominate any team, if we play our game.
“It’s important we start these games strong and start quick. The atmosphere is a bit flat afterwards because we know we had more to give. But we go again Sunday.”
Second half we went back to what we know, playing fast, getting the ball to space and getting on the front foot...
