Boss Filo Tiatia admitted Dragons had failed to apply pressure and left points on the field as they fell to defeat against a powerful Vodacom Bulls in the BKT United Rugby Championship at Rodney Parade.
The Men of Gwent went toe-to-toe with the South African powerhouses for much of the first half before the visitors pulled clear in the second period with a devastating three-try burst late on.
And Tiatia acknowledged his team needed to more clinical to build pressure on the powerful play-ff chasing Pretoria outfit.
“We are disappointed,” said Tiatia. “We conceded 15 penalties and 12 turnovers in the game and couldn’t apply pressure.
“We left points on the field and didn’t execute. We didn’t apply scoreboard pressure.
“The fans were great and they stayed to support the group. We have just got to be better.
“We had the try disallowed for Jared (Rosser), but it was clearly a knock on and that is footy. You’ve got to take the chances when they present themselves.
“I felt there were moments when we applied pressure, we just didn’t do it enough.
“We must go again (against Zebre). All these games are important for us and the score is the score.
“There is so much learning to take, for the coaches and the players, and how we shift for next week. That is going to be important.
“You’ll see selection when it comes out, but watching today’s game there might be a few changes.
“What is really important is that we learn from it, particularly at home. As a group we have to move forward.”
Bulls score the first five tries from close range as they showed a ruthless and clinical edge with every entry into the home 22.
“We previewed the Bulls and giving them opportunities to get inside your 22 is what you don’t want,” added Tiatia.
“We held them out at some points, but you can’t afford to do that against a team with a strong set piece.”
Looking ahead to Zebre next week, he added: “We are trying to stay in the scrap and freshen some bodies up.
“We are looking to give players an opportunity to show they are ready to go and we know where some players are at.
“Selection will be interesting for Zebre. They are looking forward to us going back, that is the last thing they said us, so we’ve got to get ready to go.”
There is so much learning to take, for the coaches and the players, and how we shift for next week. That is going to be important...
