Boss Dean Ryan hailed his battling Dragons as they played with 14-men for over an hour before a late try snatched a losing bonus point against Worcester Warriors.
On a dramatic afternoon at Sixways Stadium, Number Eight Taine Basham was red carded after 19 minutes.
Dragons showed huge resilience and determination to lead going into the final quarter.
Two late tries saw Worcester run out 34-28 winners – but a late twist saw Luke Baldwin score three minutes from time to snatch a deserved losing bonus point and remain top of Pool 1.
“I’m proud of our group,” said Ryan. “That was an incredible shift and we hardly put a foot wrong in terms of organisation and understanding.
“I am so proud about how we performed in incredible circumstances.
“The emotion in the changing room was that we cannot wait for next week.
“We were outstanding, almost as good as anyone could be for that long.
“To score twice and hold our organisation and hold a seven-man scrum, I am not sure what else we could have done in that situation. Eventually it would leave some numbers around the pitch.”
“I don’t think it was a red card,” added Ryan. “I think it was a rugby incident that could be dealt with by a penalty or at worst a yellow card.
“There are rugby incidents in a collision sport and I don’t believe that was a situation that merited a red card.”
Dragons are next in home action on Friday (December 13) when we welcome Worcester Warriors to Rodney Parade in the European Challenge Cup. Tickets are on sale NOW - click HERE to buy and take advantage of Early Bird rates.
I am so proud about how we performed in incredible circumstances... The emotion in the changing room was that we cannot wait for next week...
