On-loan hooker Taylor Davies admits the derby day win over Scarlets was a sweet moment – as his late try helped stun his parent club in a thrilling United Rugby Championship encounter.
Davies last spent the last two seasons on loan from Scarlets and was a key figure when he returned to Parc y Scarlets on Saturday evening and was an early replacement.
The 26-year-old – who has made 18 appearances for the Men of Gwent – feared the game had slipped away when a cruel bounce in front of him saw Johnny Williams score in the second half.
But in a late dramatic twist, Davies was pivotal as Dragons scored 17 unanswered late points to stun Scarlets.
“It was a sweet moment, it’s always nice to get over the try line and it was a special moment to do it at Parc y Scarlets as well,” he said.
“There were highs and lows in the game. When the ball brushed past me (for Williams try) I thought that was it, that the momentum had shifted and that they were going to pile the pressure on.
“But we stayed composed and managed to come back to get the win. It was nip and tuck pretty much all the way to the end and a good game of rugby to play in.”
Davies has been an important figure for Dragons this season and has made 14 appearances across all competitions.
“I am really enjoying my rugby here. I am having a lot of game time and I am focusing on the things that I need to work on to better my career,” he said.
“There are five more games this season and I want to have a good end because I have really enjoyed my season. I feel like I am one of the boys, they are a great set of lads, and we work really hard.
“I am really grateful to the Dragons; I am putting in the work and have been fortunate to get the game time that I wanted.
“At this level you improve by playing. There is only so much that you can do in training, you must be in the position of getting on the field.
“Every game you get something different, you learn from other people and how the opposition play.”
Dragons will look to make it a derby double over Scarlets on home soil this Saturday at Rodney Parade (kick-off 3pm).
And Davies believes there is much more to come from the Men of Gwent in the closing weeks of the season.
He said: “We could have been better in Llanelli at some stages, we could have been more clinical, but it was good to see our composure later on in the game rather than folding and it was really nice to get the win.
“But we had moments of the game that could have been better so it’s about fixing them and going into this weekend with the same attitude and taking the game to them.”
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We stayed composed and managed to come back to get the win... It was nip and tuck pretty much all the way to the end and a good game of rugby to play in...
