Dragons RFC and Wales back row Aaron Wainwright felt the 'fundamentals' let Dragons RFC down as they fell to defeat against Edinburgh at the Hive stadium on Friday night.
Wainwright’s try in the second half proved to be the only score from a Dragons perspective with the game finishing 38-5 in Edinburgh’s favour.
Despite having opportunities early in the game, Dragons were unable to capitalise with Edinburgh able to build a lead and control territory with a strong wind at their backs in the first half.
“It was a disappointing performance,” said Wainwright. “We probably didn't give a good account of ourselves, had chances to get into the game but our fundamentals let us down.”
“To be fair to Edinburgh, they capitalised on our mistakes, forced us to concede a lot of penalties and they kept the scoreboard ticking over.
“I think the breakdown was pretty poor this evening and we struggled to get any territory.
“My break off the back of the scrum in the first minute was a good example where I need to look after the ball a bit better and support players could have reacted a little bit quicker, but I think that was a theme all the way across the game myself included.
“Once the scoreboard starts to get away from you, we're probably chasing the game a little bit and went away from trying to play territory.”
Despite the result, the game was a memorable one for two Dragons in particular, with fly-half Josh Thomas making his debut, meanwhile three-quarter Jared Rosser made his one hundredth appearance for the club.
“Jared’s a massive part of the team,” said Wainwright.
“If you want to follow someone and be inspired by how hard they work, you just have to look at him.
“Training wise and in games. he's the guy that's working incredibly hard on and off the ball and you can see that in the highlight reels and clips that have gone out to celebrate his hundredth.
“That's exactly what he brings to the team and I’m just really happy for him to get his hundredth for the Dragons and it was nice to see his family up here celebrating that with him for the game.
“It’s just disappointing we couldn't get the result for him but it’s a massive achievement for him and hopefully many more to come.”
Dragons now have two weeks without a game before facing Scarlets on Judgement Day X at the Principality Stadium followed by another Welsh derby the following Saturday against Ospreys.
“We’ve got a couple of weekends off now so it’s a chance to look at what went wrong and what went right tonight and really knuckle down on the detail ready for those big games coming up,” said Wainwright.
“They’re massive derby games and I'm sure the boys will be revved up for that.
“I don't think it takes any external noise to get the boys going for that one and I'm sure it'll be a massive occasion, both games.
“Personally, I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the other games and hopefully we can take our form from the Ulster game and build on that instead of what we performed like tonight.”
This year marks the 10th edition of Judgement Day with Dragons having won two and lost two of their last four matches against Scarlets at the showpiece.
“I’ve got some really good memories at the Principality Stadium,” said Wainwright. “Playing Scarlets over the years, we’ve had a couple of good wins there.
“If you're looking back over the past couple of years, we have fond memories of playing at the Principality, so hopefully we can take some inspiration from those games that we've played well and that we've won.
“I’m definitely looking forward to it, hopefully there’ll be a massive crowd there, so a chance to get behind the boys and make a bit of noise for us and get a good atmosphere down there, which it always is at the Principality.
“I'm sure the boys will be really excited about that and a chance to get one over on the on the Scarlets.”
If you're looking back over the past couple of years, we have fond memories of playing at the Principality, so hopefully we can take some inspiration from those games that we've played well and that we've won.
