Captain Aneurin Owen insisted there were no excuses for the first half display against Munster Rugby.
The Men of Gwent went down 38-19 to Munster at Rodney Parade after a second half fightback under the lights.
But that was of little consolation to Owen who admitted the first half show could not be repeated.
“We just can’t give good teams like Munster first halves like that,” he said.
“Giving them a head start every time and in the second half we showed a little bit of fight, but the game had already gone.
“We’ve got a week off now, we regroup, get some bodies back and then take on Glasgow in a couple of weeks. We just can’t give good teams like Munster a head start like that.
“There are no excuses like injuries, the 15 on the pitch need to put a performance in, work hard for each other. In the first half we weren’t there,” he added.
“Munster were just playing side to side, and we were letting them play and that’s not good enough from us. We must go back, assess, and stick together.
“Travel isn’t an excuse, there are no excuses from us, it just wasn’t good enough and we need to look at it, be honest with each other and try and find solutions.
“Munster are a very physical side, and if we don’t meet that physicality, they’re just going to keep coming at us, as the first half showed. Fair play to Munster they were good, but we just let them play.”
There are no excuses like injuries, the 15 on the pitch need to put a performance in, work hard for each other. In the first half we weren’t there...
