TRY telling Roger Black that winning is everything. In 1996 the British 400m runner crossed the line second for a silver that felt like gold given that he was up against Michael Johnson; it was a race within a race.

Brits have a taste for first place thanks to the Olympic exploits in Beijing, London and Rio; a ruthless programme has led to a glut of medals and for the already bloated and outdated honours list to get even longer.

On one hand it's the winning drive that has helped earn the success with funding targeted at the elite athletes who stand the best chance of standing on top of the podium, on the other it's a dangerous 'winning is everything' mindset that can go too far.

Newport Gwent Dragons supporters will tell you that the novelty of the plucky losers tag quickly gets boring but every sportsman and every sporting team needs to have a sense of realism.

A tiresome former newspaper editor/chat show host/social media troll was quick to lay into those celebrating Team GB's silver medal in the men's rugby sevens in Rio after they were hammered by Fiji in the final (a similar gripe followed Wales' homecoming scenes after their Euro 2016 heroics).

Given that they had been flung together in 10 weeks to play against teams who had played on the international circuit, I'd suggest that the celebrations were justified.

It is well documented that top-level athletes frequently struggle to come to terms with life as civilians when deprived of their routines, targets and sporting environment.

That struggle can be exacerbated by the failure to appreciate the enormity of what they have achieved, even if there is no medal on the mantelpiece or raft of victories on their Wikipedia page.

The drive to be the very best can lead to a sense of failure if they don't reach the very pinnacle when what they have actually accomplished is way beyond what you or I could dream of.

It comes down to a very simple mantra that is thankfully said to junior players up and down the land – just do your very best, nobody can ask for any more.

Top-level athletes take that to another level with a drive that few of us can understand, getting up in the wee small hours rather than hitting the snooze button, training until they vomit and resisting the urge for beer and a burger.

Perhaps it's that very determination that leads to them never quite feeling satisfied.

I remember sitting in Lloyd Burns' lounge, a room adorned with his Wales cap and Rugby World Cup 2011 memorabilia, listening him talk about a nagging regret that his career was ended earlier.

It was a similar case earlier this summer when ex-Wales and Dragons lock Andrew Coombs talked to me about his anguish at being forced to hang up his boots when he had plenty left to achieve.

I felt like shaking both men (not wise given their size!) and reminding them of what they have actually done in incredible careers – celebrate what you have done (scoring a try at a World Cup for Burns, winning the Six Nations for Coombs) rather than tormenting yourself with what might have been.

But that's human nature and we live in a world where being a 'one-cap wonder' is almost seen as an insult when in fact representing your country, even if it's just once as a replacement, is an incredible achievement and the result of so much hard work.

On BBC radio Five Live on Monday evening there was an interview with cricketer Nick Compton, a man who couldn't quite make the leap to be a roaring success at Test level, leading to him having a break from the game earlier this summer.

It is worth remembering that Compton played 16 times for England and was part of a team that won in India and South Africa. That's not too shabby and the 32-year-old has thankfully realised that.

"The experiences that I had in an England shirt all over the world were incredible," he said. "It might never happen again but I'm so grateful."

Sportsmen can get carried away with motivational quotes but 'second place is the first loser' is bunkum, as Black will testify.

South Wales Argus:

WITH the rain lashing down and the wind howling, Saturday wasn't the perfect day for Newport Gwent Dragons to back up their vow to play more dashing rugby this season.

A development XV failed to adapt to the grim conditions as well as Ealing Trailfinders and the English side were more than good value for their win, albeit the game was closer than the 41-21 scoreline suggests.

In some ways the encounter was alarming because, as I wrote last week, every member of the Dragons’ squad has to contribute this season given the hectic schedule.

But equally it was only a pre-season fixture and the younger players will benefit this season from British and Irish Cup and Anglo-Welsh Cup encounters to hopefully push on a develop.

The weather hindered the Dragons’ efforts to play a more high tempo and dashing style of rugby – I refuse to use ‘brand’ – but the first team better be able to cope and adapt over the coming campaign as Rodney Parade in November isn’t exactly known for being crisp and dry while a February date in Galway will be challenging.

And just hours before kick-off in Ystrad Mynach there was a reminder of why the Rodney Parade side need to change from the approach that caused so much frustration in 2015/16.

A kick is only as good as the chase, as the adage says, and on both fronts the Dragons were poor throughout last season.

It’s one thing doing that against Zebre, Treviso or Edinburgh in the Guinness Pro12 and another against the most potent attacking side in the world, one that loves to go on the run in the broken field.

Australia were a rabble in the Rugby Championship opener in Sydney last weekend and played into the hands of New Zealand with shockingly bad kicking and appalling chasing.

The All Blacks scored three tries from kicks and also wasted another couple of openings; the Wallabies’ failings would have been familiar to Dragons fans after a season of rugby that was mind-numbing on far too many occasions.

‘The All Blacks kick more than anyone…’ is a phrase that usually gets trotted out at this stage but they understand the strategy and execute it.

A good kicking game is a necessity in rugby, especially in the northern hemisphere, but the Dragons pledge to put boot to ball on fewer occasions this season will be music to the ears of supporters.