The Dragons U16s kicked off their WRU Reebok Regional Championship season with a disappointing 35-10 defeat against the Ospreys at the Recreation Ground, Tredegar.
The Dragons looked well placed at half time, but fell away in the second half as the reigning champions ran in five tries.
Elli Walker, Ryan Jones, Gareth Baker, Mike Sully and Bowdy Davies helped themselves to tries with Tom Priday weighing in with five conversions.
The Dragons scored twice in the first half through wings Neil Jenkins and Luke Davies but it was scant consolation.
Ron Shottle, High Performance Manager at The Dragons, said, "We are delighted with the number of players we have pushed through into the senior squad, but we are aware that our collective performances and results need to improve.
"For half an hour of this game, our lineout and scrum was excellent. After that, we fell apart and they ran away with it. It is something we need to address."
In the other game, Blues North defeated the Scarlets 24-12 at Narberth.
Tight head prop Owen Davies, wing Owain Williams, outside half Joseph Griffin and blindisde flanker Jack Gibbon all scored tries whilst full back Harley Thompson capped an outstanding display with a brace of conversions.
The Scarlets, who trailed 10-0 at the interval, crossed for two tries in the second half - Sam Parry and replacement Scott Charlton on the mark with James Russell adding a conversion.
Gafyn Cooper, High Performance Manager for the Blues said, "Going away on the opening day is never easy, but the boys battled relentlessly to earn what could be a crucial away day victory.
"There were some outstanding individual performances from the likes of Adam Lewis, Owen Shepherd and Thomas Young, but more importantly was the collective performance."
Dragons U16 Team
Michael Channing, Liam Foley, Alek Cooper (Matthew Jolly), Alex Herbert, Neil Jenkins (Dafydd Carter), Lewis Robling, Jonathan Evans, Lloyd Ford (Lewis Bacon), Luke Jones (James Richardson), Alexander Yule (Gareth Kemp), Rhys Griffiths (Grant Rogers), Alex Hughes, Gareth Evas, Christopher Penna (David Bates), Rhydian Wilson (c)
