Head Coach Filo Tiatia praised the character of his Dragons and the ‘Gwent mentality’ as they pushed DHL Stormers all the way in a closely fought BKT United Rugby Championship clash in Cape Town.
Seb Davies, Thomas Young and Rio Dyer all scored tries as the Men of Gwent were eventually beaten 29-21 to narrowly miss out on two bonus points.
It was a performance packed full of endeavour and spirit that pleased boss Tiatia who admitted his team could have taken even more from the encounter.
“I was really happy with the character and staying in the fight,” he stated.
“The last passage of play when we kept them out was a real Gwent mentality.
“It’s staying in it, Stormers had momentum, but we snuffed some things out.
“We didn’t get much of roll today with disallowed tries, it could have been different,” he added.
“We should have been 14-14 at the break or us in front, but we weren’t because we weren’t accurate enough when the opportunities arose. We didn’t execute.
“We’ve got to keep instilling belief and trust and keeping moving forward and growing.”
Reflecting on the game, Tiatia said: “We didn’t start well and the Stormers did a good job around the aerial game and we just couldn’t get the ball. We didn’t scrap enough around it.
“We gave two penalties early on for side entry and we are not learning quickly enough and adapting fast enough. We have got to be more agile around the law.
“But when we got it right, we built pressure and showed we could score tries.
“It’s about how we hold onto possession and have pride around creating pressure.
“Harrison Keddie in the huddle at the end hit the nail on the head. The effort was constant, but the accuracy of that is really important,” he added.
“We have got to keep moving forward, keep learning - that is what we can control.
“We have a young group and a lot of young guys got exposed today.
“It was a tough ask with our young props, but you’ve got to taste the water. Sometimes it is salty, but you get used to it and the intensity and pressure.
“If you haven’t been exposed you won’t learn. You have to be challenged.”
I was really happy with the character and staying in the fight... The last passage of play when we kept them out was a real Gwent mentality...
