Centre Jack Dixon is desperate for Dragons to claim their first victory of the Season at Connacht following last weekend’s narrow one point loss to Leinster.
The defending league champions from Dublin were nearly the victims of an upset in the second round of the United Rugby Championship at Rodney Parade.
The Dragons were put under plenty of pressure by the Irish province but limited the damage to 7-0 and then closed the gap with a pair of Sam Davies penalties.
They continued to hold firm in the closing stages but couldn't manage to press for one more score to stun a side hunting a fifth title on the spin.
Dixon is one of the few Dragons to have experienced beating Leinster – he was part of the 2014/15 team that did the double over them – but has also suffered his share of defeats against the Irish side.
But the 26-year-old from Newbridge, who is in his 11th campaign in the senior squad, was in no mood to toast a consolation bonus against the big guns, who were glad to hear the final whistle.
And Dixon admits he is still frustrated that the Dragons won't be hunting an Irish double in Galway on Saturday evening.
"We said in the changing room straight afterwards that we have to take our chances," said Dixon. "I felt we were in the game all the way through and we are disappointed not to win at the end.
"We are going in the right direction because I have played Leinster before when you are running around and haven't got a clue what is going on.
"We all felt comfortable, we all felt that we were on the same page and the defence was strong. We can take a lot of positives from that.
"Leinster are the top runners in the league so we are happy we stuck in there, but we've got to start winning these games, especially at home."
The Dragons have struggled against the Irish provinces in recent and now they take on Connacht in Galway, where they haven't won since the first season of regional rugby.
The season has started with narrow losses to the Ospreys and Leinster but Dean Ryan's men will be looking to get that first victory on the board in Ireland.
“The next step is that we have to start winning these games when they are so close," said Dixon. "It's always tough at Connacht but we are looking to get a win to get the ball rolling."
Dixon has formed a midfield partnership with Aneurin Owen in the opening two fixtures.
Despite naturally playing inside centre for majority of his career the experienced Dixon has been happy to shift to the outside to play alongside the 20-year-old from Newport, whose superb debut season led to him getting a summer call-up by Wales.
"It's been a bit of a change for me and I am quite enjoying 13," said Dixon, who has climbed to 10th on the Dragons' list of appearance makers with 143.
"Aneurin has come through and is playing really well, he was very good again against Leinster. I feel like we are building a strong partnership and we bounce off each other in certain situations.
"I am happy to play 12 or 13 to just be out there. There is a lot of competition in the back line at the moment and I am just happy to get in where I can and quietly go about my business."
