Prop Leon Brown admitted it was a bittersweet return as he impressed in a narrow 30-25 defeat to Emirates Lions at Ystrad Mynach.
Brown came on in the second half of the narrow Round 4 defeat to help inspire Dragons as they scored 20 unanswered points to push the South Africans all the way.
After his injury torment since last April, Brown was pleased to play his part in a team effort to secure knockout rugby in the tournament.
But he admitted the squad had been left wondering what if as a grandstand finale fell agonisingly short.
“It was good to be back – it has been a long time,” smiled Brown.
“It was nice to be out there and hopefully it didn’t look too bad. The lungs were screaming early on but I enjoyed it.
“I’ve been pent up for a while now. I’m fed up of watching the boys so if I am going to come back I wanted to make a big effort.
“Behind the scenes we have been grafting. It’s not one man’s effort, it is all the pack.
“Brodie (Coghlan), since he has been in the mix, has been excellent. His energy is right up there, and he has been fantastic.
“It is not down to me it’s a collective effort.
“The points mean we go through, but second half it was all us,” he added.
“We piled on the pressure, the set piece was going well, and the backs could pull the strings.
“That last play, when we kicked to the corner, we need to better and take a breath and chill out to make sure we execute.
“You can’t fault the effort but sometimes it is just a little bit of execution. It was tough at the end to take.”
On his return to full fitness after nine months on the sidelines, Brown revealed the journey he had been through.
“It’s been tough. I had nine months out but I’ve been playing with it for the best part of two seasons,” said the front rower.
“It was a recurring thing, I would play and then need two or three months out. We made the decision last summer to get it sorted, it took a bit longer than we thought it would to get my strength back but I feel good now.
“It was a nerve issue with my neck that was affecting my right arm – and my binding arm is important at the scrum!
“Every time I would put a shot in or carry I would get stingers and if I got repeated ones then I would lose strength.”
“I travelled to South Africa and was pushing to play out there,” added Brown. “I think I was doing too much and that set me back a little bit.
“Dai and Dan Baugh sat me down and told me to relax, get my strength back and said they wouldn’t put any pressure on me.
“I had a solid four or five weeks mainly in the gym working on my strength and doing extras. That’s come back, so the approach worked.”
I’ve been pent up for a while now... I’m fed up of watching the boys so if I am going to come back I wanted to make a big effort...
