Harrison Keddie admitted inaccuracies had hurt Dragons as they lost to Zebre – and called on his team-mates to bounce back in the derby against Ospreys.
Keddie made his return to lead Dragons at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, but it was to prove a game to forget as the Italians secured a 26-15 victory.
The back row did not hide his frustration after the game and acknowledged that Dragons need to now raise the bar before a Welsh derby.
“It was a very frustrating game,” he said. “We felt like we created some good opportunities to get into their half and get into their 22.
“Inaccuracies around the breakdown and other factors let us down and gave them easy ins into our half.
“We know we have got the ability to score tries,” he added. “You can see that with the ones we scored, they are good finishes.
“But we needed accuracy and to put ourselves in the right position to do that.
“We had spoken about Zebre and knew they would come at us with drive and a pretty big pack.
“They have some direct players so we needed to front up and not let them get on top with quick ball.
“That is when they are dangerous and credit to them for the win, but we need to look at ourselves.”
Dragons make the shorter trip to Bridgend on Saturday to tackle Ospreys at the Brewery Field.
And Keddie knows a hard week on the training field lies ahead as they bid to make amends for the Italian defeat.
“Whoever we are playing next week, it’s important we get back into training and go again,” he said.
“A derby does add that extra bit of spice, but it is on us now to get those bits of the game that didn’t go well against Zebre right.
“We’ve got to look at ourselves and it’s got to come from within,” he added.
“We will look at why things were happening or not happening and we need the answers pretty quick, because the games are coming thick and fast over the next few weeks.”
A derby does add that extra bit of spice, but it is on us now to get those bits of the game that didn’t go well right...
