Following the Dragons comprehensive 23-13 win over Perpignan, Dragons Head Coach Darren Edwards praised the team’s effort.
“It was a really good performance by the players, it was important that we stepped up against a big European team and I thought that we did that tonight. It was important that they didn’t get a bonus point and that we finished the first two games at the top of the table.”
“The big thing is the balance of our team, we’ve got good decision makers, our experienced players are leading from the front and there are a couple of good younger players coming into the team as well so we’re in a good place at the Dragons and I’m really proud of the way we’re going about our work and how we’re improving.”
“When we look back in the cold light of day and analyse that game we certainly missed a few opportunities (to go for the 4 tries and the bonus point).”
Man of the match, Lewis Evans, who came into the team to replace the injured Welsh international, Danny Lydiate said “We all enjoyed it and it’s something we’ve all been looking forward to all week. Obviously, it’s one of the biggest games of the season, Perpignan at home, and we knew we had to deliver in front of the fans.”
He was keen to highlight the complete team effort, “I think it’s the first time we’ve really functioned well as both forwards and a back line so there’s lots of good team work involved there and resulted in the win.”
“We’re heading into another derby game, with the Scarlets coming up, so it’s important to carry this momentum into that.”
“After Treviso we spent a lot of time on the contact area so credit to Rob Appleyard he’s put a lot of emphasis on there and put a lot of pressure on us and we responded well to it tonight.”
“Perpignan are no mugs, they’ve done really well in the past few seasons and we kept pressure on people like James Hook and we kept them out of the game.”
Looking forward to the next couple of Amlin Challenge Cup group games, Darren Edwards said of Exeter, “I think we’re going to face a similar style to what we just saw here tonight. It’ll be another great challenge for our forward pack but we have nothing to fear. We’ve got to take heart from the fact we’re 5 points clear and make sure we get more points on the board.”
“They have done well coming into the English Premiership, they’re used to playing the big games and they’re very physical games. We’re going to be different; they won’t often come up against the style of play we use so it’ll be a good challenge for both teams.”
