Back row ace Aaron Wainwright insists there is still plenty for Dragons RFC to play for this season as they prepare for crunch league and European action.
The Men of Gwent have three BKT United Rugby Championship fixtures to come with derbies against Ospreys and Scarlets – at Judgement Day – plus a trip to Belfast to face pay-off chasing Ulster.
Last 16 action in the EPCR Challenge Cup takes centre stage in Scotland on April 1 when the team face Glasgow Warriors looking to move on into the next round of the knockout stages.
“It’s still an exciting time towards the end of this season,” said Wainwright.
“It’s tough not to finish at home with a win, but we are looking forward to a couple more derby games and a chance to go on in Europe. That is an exciting time for this group.
“If can capitalise on those games it is something to look forward to and some big occasions ahead.
“Our performances are nearly there,” he added.
“Over the course of the season you can look at our results and see that we have come close in a lot of games and had a couple of wins where we maybe wouldn’t have expected it.
“Our goal going into the end of the season is to take a couple more wins against some teams who might not be expecting it.”
Reflecting on the narrow Connacht defeat, the Wales international added: “It’s a tough one to take. We wanted to finish the season and the last game at home with a win.
“It was a game that summed up the season. We had patches where we took control of the game.
“Obviously going to 14 and 13 men wasn’t ideal, but I still think we controlled that well.
“We just needed those moments of composure where we can finish off our chances and take points when we need to.
“The pivotal part of the game was not taking our chances and they were able to capitalise on theirs.”
It’s tough not to finish at home with a win, but we are looking forward to a couple more derby games and a chance to go on in Europe... That is an exciting time for this group...
