Senior Coach Dale MacLeod believes Dragons are starting ‘to see the fruits of our labour’ as they aim to finish a block of growth with a crucial away derby success.
The Men of Gwent head to Bridgend and the Electric Brewery Field this Saturday evening (kick-off 7.45pm) aiming to secure a first away win in the BKT United Rugby Championship this season.
Dragons have enjoyed success at home – with four successive wins a Rodney Parade in all competitions – and came agonisingly close last weekend in Cork against Munster to an away day success.
“If we get an outcome this weekend (at Ospreys), I’d say it’s been a successful block for us,” stated MacLeod.
“We’ve definitely grown as a group. It would have been great to get a result last week (at Munster), but you can’t fault the intent of the boys.
“We’re looking forward to getting down to Ospreys and the Brewery Field and showing what we’ve got.
“The boys have been working hard on their game and sometimes it doesn’t always show straight away. Just because you work on it today, doesn’t mean it will work on Saturday,” he added.
“We’ve done a lot of good work, and I can’t fault the intent or coachability of the boys. They’ve worked very hard and we’ve had some just about wins.
“We’ve got to keep growing our game. We‘ve still have a long way to go, don’t get me wrong, but we’re starting to see the fruits of our labour.”
Reflecting on the late Munster loss, Macleod added: “Sometimes you get the bounce of the ball and decisions go your way. They had some that were crucial in keys moments, but I cannot fault our effort.
“We had 29 percent ball and 33 percent territory and made over 200 tackles at 96 percent. You can never doubt what we give.
“It’s a mark in the sand for us about winning away from home because we haven’t done it in a while.
“It was good to go away and show that we could, just about, but we need to get that win.
“Like our game with Lyon, we got one and away we go. Confidence is a massive thing and momentum is massive. We’re starting to get a bit of that and it’s exciting.”
We’ve got to keep growing our game. We‘ve still have a long way to go, don’t get me wrong, but we’re starting to see the fruits of our labor...
