Boss Dean Ryan praised the effort of his Dragons after they narrowly lost out 20-7 to Guinness PRO14 play-off hopefuls Edinburgh at BT Murrayfield.
Adam Warren marked his 100th game for the region with a second half try as Dragons battled bravely and showed real resilience in the Scottish capital.
Edinburgh eventually wrapped up the points to maintain their undefeated start to the new season on home soil.
However, Ryan was left proud of his team as they went toe-to-toe with a side who featured several returning Scotland internationals after the Rugby World Cup.
“I am incredibly proud of the effort,” said the Director of Dragons Rugby.
“This is an established Edinburgh side of two or three years. I love coaching against Richard (Cockerill), I have spent many years doing it, and he has made big strides here.
“We came here with some really young lads, we are trying hard to concentrate on where we can get better, but at the same time we’ve got to recognise we are a little bit behind in the competition against some sides.
“That was a big shift, it was really physical and was a game of patience.
“We were in there long enough, but probably didn’t have as much power as Edinburgh off the bench, which moved that 15 minutes at the end towards them.
“The big thing was about staying patient; we had been together for five games and during that time had looked too early to play a bit too much.
“That made us vulnerable, but in Edinburgh we stayed in the contest a bit longer and I was delighted to watch a powerful side coached by Richard Cockerill not get over with a drive or with key pick-and-go situations.
“That was our big effort because against sides as physical as this we’ve had a bit of a soft underbelly – Munster went over three times against us, Leinster the same.” “I refuse to let the result be the only thing,” added Ryan.
“This is a young side and it is coming from a long way back, but it’s making strides, I love working with them and I am really proud of them.
“It’s about small steps and we can all have aspirations of the type of game we want to play but we’ve got to take some small steps towards it.”
Dragons are next in action on home soil on Saturday, November 16 when they face Castres in the European Challenge Cup at Rodney Parade. Click HERE to buy online and enjoy Early Bird discounted prices!
This is a young side and it is coming from a long way back, but it’s making strides, I love working with them and I am really proud of them...
