NEWPORT Gwent Dragons won't be paying special attention to their set piece for Sunday's clash against Munster with head coach Kingsley Jones giving the thumbs-up to his forwards despite a chastening night at Murrayfield, writes Chris Kirwan.

The Dragons were given a 32-13 Guinness Pro12 hammering by Edinburgh with four players sent to the sin bin and the scrum creaking against the hosts' all-international front row.

Both looseheads Boris Stankovich and Phil Price were yellow-carded and referee Marius Mitrea awarded seven penalties against the visitors at the scrum.

However, Jones believes the Dragons got a raw deal from the Italian official and won't be going back to the drawing board with his front eight.

Jones said: "We've got to be much smarter with our discipline but I can't criticise Boris or Phil for their scrummaging – I felt (WP) Nel was on his knees a lot of the time and decisions could have gone either way.

"We've worked so hard on the scrum preparing for Castres and Edinburgh, we knew what they bring and Munster will present the same challenges with a strong drive and scrum.

"It may sound weird but I can't fault our scrum. In the last five minutes they tried to push us over our line and we kept them out, that speaks volumes."

Munster, who cruised to a 38-12 victory at Rodney Parade last season, are also licking their wounds after a shock 18-12 loss to Connacht at Thomond Park.

"We've got a nine-day turnaround and a lot of things to improve on," said Jones. "It was a very disappointing night at Murrayfield and the yellow cards made a farce of everything, trying to win with 14, and even 13 at one point, is a very difficult challenge.

"But we are proud at home and Ulster were lucky to get the win when we felt we put in a good performance (at the start of the month)."

The Dragons sit ninth in the Pro12 with Cardiff Blues and the Italian pair of Zebre and Treviso – their only league scalps of the season – beneath them.