Dragons Under-18s Head Coach Jack Condy praised the performance of his team as they were edged out 7-5 by Cardiff in horrendous weather in the Regional Age Grade Championship.
Captain Tye Davies grabbed a first half try at Ystrad Mynach before Dragon were pinned back.
A scoreless second period in stormy weather saw Dragons - who were forced into a late change with prop Morgan William injured in then warm-up – dig deep before being defeated.
“It was very difficult conditions and I take my hat off to the boys, the way they performed in that weather was excellent,” said Condy.
“Everything we asked from them pre-game was there, just a little bit of indiscipline in the second half gave them territory.
“With the injury pre-game it was difficult, but the boys adapted well to the delayed kick-off. We all send our best wishes to Morgan and I’m sure he’ll come back stronger.
“I thought we were sharp first half, but the second the weather changed it.
“We’re halfway through the block and although we have three defeats, I don’t feel they reflect performances. We’re in a good space,” he added.
“We’ve got a few weeks until the next game and time to regroup and be ready for the next four games.”
Condy’s thoughts were echoed by full back Jack Woods who believes Dragons can hit higher heights in the second block of games.
“We haven’t shown yet what we are capable of. We’ll be looking for that first win to start the second block,” he said.
“We need to look the momentum we have got from the last two games and now take our chances.
“Hopefully this second block we can come out and perform for a full 70 minutes.
“It was a tough game for the boys, especially after the loss at Scarlets last week, but considering the conditions the boys did well,” he added.
“Three penalties in the first half was good, but the second the penalty count was too much for us. With the wind they kicked to the corner and pinned us back.
“We dug in to not concede anymore tries and we can be proud of that effort.”
