DIRECTOR of rugby Lyn Jones hailed the return of his experienced campaigners after Newport Gwent Dragons enjoyed their first Guinness Pro12 win of the season.

The Dragons climbed to eight in the table thanks to a comfortable 33-15 win against Treviso at Rodney Parade.

Wing Hallam Amos (2), centre Ashley Smith and scrum-half Jonathan Evans crossed as the region bagged their first league four-try bonus point in over two years.

Smith was making his return after six months on the sidelines with a foot injury and proved to be a calming influence along with full-back Lee Byrne and fly-half Jason Tovey, who sat out the 33-13 home thumping at the hands of Glasgow with shoulder and calf problems respectively.

"It makes a huge difference when you have got experienced players back from injury and it just allows the youngsters to grow," said Jones.

"I thought we had a really positive attitude to play and some of handling, go-forward and off-loading was good while our turnover count was low.

"There were a couple of lapses but I am very satisfied."

The Dragons now go on their travels to the Scarlets and Edinburgh before the Pro12 goes on the back burner and the European campaign starts.

After narrow defeats to Connacht and the Ospreys and the Glasgow thumping, Jones believes the win against Treviso shows that the region is on the up.

He said: "Positive performances and a bonus point win helps people understand that what we are doing is right.

"It's going to take time to develop a team but we have made strides since September 1 and this is exactly where we thought we would be at the end of the month.

"Now we move forward and this win gives us a boost going into the Scarlets."

The Dragons do, however, have more problems in the second row after Cory Hill was forced off in the second half.

They are already without shoulder injury victims Ian Gough, Matthew Screech and Joe Davies while Andrew Coombs is banned for another week following a stamp against the Ospreys.

It leaves them down to Rynard Landman and the inexperienced pair of James Thomas and Scott Andrews.