KINGSLEY Jones admitted feeling sorry for the Rodney Parade faithful after a kick-heavy approach against the Ospreys but insists Newport Gwent Dragons still have the desire to go on the run.

The Guinness PRO12 title hopefuls took the spoils 10-0 on New Year’s Day, condemning the Dragons to a first home defeat since September.

It was the first time they had been nilled in Newport since being beaten 25-0 by Percy Montgomery and Perpignan in January, 2008.

At times in the second half the crowd were sarcastically cheering every kick as the ball was boomed from one end to another but Jones said it was a necessary evil in heavy conditions against a savvy Ospreys side.

“I felt a little bit sorry for the crowd, I don’t want to kick the ball but you have to stick with it against the Ospreys because if you try and play (in the wrong areas) they will punish you,” he said.

“What I’ve said about our game and trying to play (expansively), the fundamentals and basics of the game don’t change. You need a scrum and a lineout drive even if you are the Harlem Globetrotters.

“We have a contingency plan for days like today and practice that. Our mindset isn’t to kick the ball, we feel we have got the likes of Ashton Hewitt and Hallam Amos and need to use them.

“We’ve scored lots of tries from our wings and like to get the ball to the edge.”

It was the execution of the kicking game rather than the tactic that frustrated the head coach.

“The Ospreys came here to a job and they were clinical,” he said. “The difference in the game was their little bit more experience in critical positions and four or five individual errors by us.”

The game needed to pass a number of pitch inspections with the Ospreys unhappy at the state of the Rodney Parade pitch, which was used by Newport County on Saturday afternoon and will host Newport RFC against RGC 1404 this evening.

“The referee was put in a difficult position and had a big call to make. I would have respected his decision either way but he was happy to play and so was I,” said Jones.

“I was just glad to get the game on because there was a big crowd on New Year’s Day and that’s what you play the game for.

“First and foremost is player safety but I don’t think there was any danger of the ground leading to anyone getting hurt.”

Jones’ Ospreys counterpart Steve Tandy was visibly unhappy at referee Ian Davies giving the go-ahead.

“The conditions were horrific and I definitely had serious concerns and was pretty unhappy about the state of the field,” he said.

“As an advert for the competition, it doesn’t lend itself to be a spectacle for the supporters.

“The safety (was a concern), it doesn’t make a difference to us if there is a little bit of water or the pitch is cut up, that’s life and that’s the winter, but there was definitely a concern for player safety.

“In fairness Ian backed himself, I wasn’t particularly happy but it’s good the game is done and nobody has been injured.”

The Dragons expect centre Jack Dixon to be fit to fight for a place in Friday’s team to face Treviso in Newport.