Head Coach Filo Tiatia wants his Dragons to adopt the same mentality away from home when they go on their travels - as they bid to build on a month of Rodney Parade success.
The Men of Gwent made it a hat-trick of Newport victories when they defeated Scarlets on New Year’s Day – having also dispatched Lyon and Connacht in December on home soil.
Attention this week switches back to the EPCR Challenge Cup and the quest for knockout rugby. Dragons head to Italy to face Benetton Rugby in Treviso on Saturday (kick-off 5.30pm).
And Tiatia knows transferring home form onto the road will be key if they are to take a step forward to qualification this weekend.
“We’re happy with the win over Scarlets, but we also know we have a lot of areas to grow,” he said.
“When we travel away is an area of growth for us. When we go away, we need to play the same way we do at home.
“It’s different grounds, but it is just a piece of dirt and grass we play on. We need to adopt the same mentality now.”
Meanwhile, Tiatia has praised the way a number of his young stars have shone brightly during the current ten-week block of fixtures.
“I am proud of the growth of some of your younger guys,” said Tiatia. “Ryan (Woodman) is growing as a player. He has put on a lot of weight from last year and when you look at him you see the difference.
“Che (Hope) is another one. He has always been an attacking threat, but his defence game is improving.
“Oli (Burrows) has also been great. It’s great he’s back in the mix and starting. George Roberts has come into the club and there is a lot of competition with Brodie (Coghlan) nearly back too.
“I’m also happy for Dai (Richards). He has taken every opportunity he has had. He has come in from SRC last season and he is very coachable. I’m proud of his effort.
“Fine (Inisi) has had a crack and done well to hold onto the centre jersey for now. But Dai keeps working hard and he took that chance on the right-hand edge (against Scarlets). I was shouting with the coaches in the box for that one.
“We are playing with freedom and seeing things happen, which is good.”
It’s different grounds, but it is just a piece of dirt and grass we play on. We need to adopt the same mentality now...
