Dragons RFC captain Steff Hughes has demanded that the club plays smarter and gets the right reaction when they face Scarlets in Judgement Day 2024 at Cardiff City Stadium.
The Men of Gwent suffered a 26-13 loss to Ospreys at Swansea.com Stadium in a game where they were hampered by poor discipline and two yellow cards before half-time.
Hughes admitted that the team had given themselves little chance by conceding 20 penalties in the loss to Ospreys.
But he is now calling for a response as Dragons look for a big performance in the capital on June 1.
"It is frustrating, our effort is always good, but we need to be smarter," said Hughes.
"The big talking point will be our discipline after giving away close to 14 penalties by half-time. Against a good team like Ospreys, you can't afford to go down to 13 men.
“We gave ourselves opportunities towards the end, the boys who came off the bench were excellent, they gave us energy.
“Had we taken one or two it could have been closer. But ultimately, we can’t expect to win games when you concede that many penalties.
"We want to have a reaction from that performance," added Hughes.
"It is an opportunity for us as squad in what will be the last game for some players who will be moving on. We want to make it a great day for them.
“We played well against Scarlets at Judgement Day last season, so we need that level of performance again.”
We played well against Scarlets at Judgement Day last season, so we need that level of performance again...
