Dean Ryan has vowed his Dragons will not feel sorry for themselves and will keep battling on – despite fresh injury setback in the defeat to Scarlets.
Back row Taine Basham was a casualty in Llanelli with a feared fractured forearm while full back Jonah Holmes was also forced off.
Dragons will now reassess player availability and options ahead of the Guinness PRO14 clash with Ospreys at Rodney Parade on Saturday (kick-off 5.15pm).
However, Director of Dragons Rugby Ryan is remaining positive as he looks for his side to emerge stronger for a testing period.
He said: “We were on such a high going into Europe, ten years waiting and two league wins when we played well. We also had our internationals coming back. Then the world turned upside down.
“But what do we do? Do we curl up in a ball and feel sorry for ourselves or do we just keep fielding sides? We kept fielding sides.
“It has changed every single week, but that is what makes me proud. Who knew Ben Carter four or five weeks ago? I think the same will be said of Aneurin Owen in six months from now.
“Taine looks like a fractured forearm but we will wait to see,” he added. “He was getting back to the form we know he can play.
“It shows the level of our back row that we have Ollie Griffiths, Ross Moriarty, Taine Basham all out now, but we still have a pretty decent back row."
Looking ahead to the clash with Ospreys, Ryan is hopeful his team will get reward after two battling defeats to Cardiff Blues and Scarlets over the festive period.
“We want to win. It’s not like we haven’t reminded them that is the important part of the game. But sometimes that is part of the challenge,” said Ryan.
“I’d love them to get the reward they deserve. But you have to work hard in this game to do that and you also have 15 people on the other side to make that difficult.
“I’m not overly worried by our win and loss record. We won two on the bounce before Covid hit us and the world turned upside down.
“Now we are coming out the other side of it with some players who have had some really good experience over this last period.
“It would be nice to have all our players available to us, but we don’t have that. When that happens we look at it through a different lens and give people an opportunity.
“That is what we are doing at the Dragons. Some of it is because we have to, we don’t have the resources past that 15.
“We have probably got seven or eight of the starting team not here at the moment - but we are not going to curl up in a ball.
“We are going to say ‘who is next, who is next to represent us?’ I am really proud of the guys taking opportunities."
I’d love them to get the reward they deserve. But you have to work hard in this game to do that and you also have 15 people on the other side to make that difficult...
