Paul Turner has highlighted the positives in the aftermath of the Newport Gwent Dragons second pre-season loss.
Despite an encouraging start the Men of Gwent went down to a 33-20 defeat at the hands of an impressive London Irish outfit.
Turner said: “Even though we lost it was a positive game for us. We had certain players who were going to play 20, 30, 40 minutes and as a result struggled to find continuity. I felt Ryan Lamb controlled the game quite well. We knew if we left ball on the field and did not get our kicks right they can punish you. We made a lot of changes which we wouldn’t normally make.
“But it is a learning curve and a wake-up call for the players. We couldn’t quite clear our lines, lost our shape and the game went away from us. We couldn’t get any flow into our game.
“But I’m really pleased with Robin Sowden-Taylor and Joe Bearman. I think Robin gave a real quality open-side performance in his 30 minutes.
“I felt that Luke Charteris did well and his work-rate was without question. He did really well, but for us it is just a question of trying not to sustain any more injuries. We have a few guys back next week, but a few players picked up bumps today.
“I think the set piece was okay. We felt it was important to give a lot of our props game time and I’m relatively pleased with how they went.
“I think the conditions played a part. You would expect a beautiful August day but as with any game the conditions can play a huge part. There are a few things that we are still concerned with but there were a lot of positives.”
The Dragons had taken an early lead at a wet Rodney Parade when Jason Tovey landed a penalty from 45-metres out. But the visitors struck back with a penalty of their own and a Topsy Ojo converted try. Paul Hodgson had taken a quick tap after the Dragons were penalised at a scrum. The England International was dragged down short of the try-line and after several phases the ball was spread wide to Delon Armitage who was able to put Ojo over in the right-hand corner.
The Dragons soon got a try back when Nicky Griffiths capitalised on loose ball at the back of a scrum to dart over for an opportunist try. Tovey added the extras and a further penalty to give the Men of Gwent a 13-10 lead at the interval.
The game was bearing all the trademarks of a typical pre-season friendly and despite several glimpses of enterprise the game was littered with errors. The second-half continued in such fashion and the Dragons struggled to find continuity.
Ryan Lamb pulled the strings in the London Irish side slotting three penalties and keeping the Dragons pinned back. And it was Lamb’s chip which paved the way for George Stowers to crash over to extend the Exiles lead.
But the Men of Gwent struck back with a try of the highest order, courtesy of on-trial David Bishop. Matthew Jones and Tovey combined brilliantly in midfield and after good support work from Hugo Ellis and Griffiths, Bishop was able to touch down.
But any hopes of a Dragons comeback were dashed when Stowers barged his way over for a second try to inflict a 33-20 defeat on the Dragons.
Newport Gwent Dragons – Tries: Nicky Griffiths 33, David Bishop 76; Cons: Jason Tovey 34, Matthew Jones 77; Pens: Jason Tovey 4, 40
London Irish – Tries: Topsy Ojo 22, George Stowers 66,83; Cons: Ryan Lamb 23, 66, 83; Pens: Ryan Lamb 16, 42, 57, 61.
