Head Coach Dai Flanagan praised the character of his Dragons as they put off-field issues aside to go blow-for-blow with undefeated league leaders Leinster.
The Men of Gwent lost out 43-14 to the Irish powerhouse at the RDS Arena in the BKT United Rugby Championship but it was a score that told only half the story.
With much of match week disrupted by off field headlines, Flanagan had backed his players to produce an emotional response in Dublin.
And they delivered with a display packed full of spirit and determination in adversity.
“I don’t think the score reflected the game,” said the Head Coach.
“I thought we controlled a fair bit, with and without the ball, but we need to be more accurate.
“We need to score points when we are in the ascendancy and not concede them when we have got the ball so easily. But we worked hard.
“I’m super proud,” he added. “They were emotionally ready, and you can see that in the performance.
“You would need to speak to the Leinster players to ask how physical we were.
“The way we stepped up, matching them physically and punch for punch, was outstanding.
“When you come here you’ve got to do that, and our boys really stepped up in that area.
“The four minutes before half-time hurt us. But I thought we were mostly right tonight; we were teeing off and bringing line speed.
“It’s so refreshing to see the group play for each other the way they did.
“It’s been a tough week for them, but these boys keep turning up.”
Dragons lost centre Jack Dixon at half-time to injury – a cruel blow after he spoke in the week about the off-field issues affecting the squad.
However, Flanagan reiterated his message that the club will look after players.
“Jack is upset in the changing room, as you can imagine, but we will look after him,” he stated.
“The players will stick together, and rightly so. They have a job to do and part of that job is protecting themselves.
“The players will make the decisions that they need to make. I support them 100 percent.
“They are a pleasure to work with this group. They turn up every day and you saw that tonight from minute one."
It’s so refreshing to see the group play for each other the way they did... It’s been a tough week for them, but these boys keep turning up...
