BERNARD Jackman believes the Dragons are starting to get their defensive snap thanks to their improved fitness as they prepare for a daunting date with Munster in Cork tomorrow evening.

The Irish province are second in the Guinness PRO14 and haven’t lost to the men from Rodney Parade on Irish soil since the first season of regional rugby.

Munster will be keen to give director of rugby Rassie Erasmus a winning send-off in what is likely to be his last game before heading home to South Africa, while they have a formidable home record against the Dragons.

The last five meetings have seen the hosts rack up 177 points at an average of 35 points and scored 25 tries.

The Dragons will need to be at their defensive best if they are to leave Musgrave Park with anything to show for their spoils and Jackman has been encouraged.

They were downed 28-14 by the Ospreys in Swansea last week but it was a two-point game going into the final quarter thanks to a sterling backs-to-the-wall effort in which the visitors made 211 tackles and missed just 14.

That contrasted starkly to an at-times shambolic summer in which they shipped 201 points and 31 tries in tough tune-ups against Montpellier, Northampton, Exeter and Glasgow.

“If you look at where we are coming from, and even in pre-season, our defence looks a lot better,” said Jackman, who brought in defence coach Hendre Marnitz in August.

“The players understand the system a lot better and now it’s about being more aggressive and having more line speed.

“I think we have to understand that there are baby steps that you’ve got to go through and if you try and increase line speed and go from the bottom of the stairs to the fifth step then we will have a lot more issues.

“We need patience but building something really strong will take a little bit of time and I hopefully people can see we are on the right track.

“Certainly in terms of fitness levels, youth and exuberance we have the right ingredients to build something nice.”

The trip to Cork is a fifth on the spin for the Dragons after losses at Cardiff Blues, Newcastle and the Ospreys and a win against Enisei-STM in Russia, which brought to an end their 18-month drought on the road.

After Anglo-Welsh Cup dates against Northampton and the Scarlets they also head to face PRO14 title hopefuls Leinster in Dublin at the end of the month before finally enjoying Rodney Parade home comforts against Ulster on December 1.

Jackman believes life on the road will serve his Dragons well in the long term.

“The calendar will make us,” said the head coach. “The fixture list of the Blues, Newcastle, Russia, Ospreys, Munster and Leinster is really hard but it’s great because we are going to be at our peak in January, February and March.

“To get all these away games out of the way, and get used to going on the road and fighting for every inch will stand us in good stead.”

The Dragons name their team at midday with James Sheekey poised for a debut at number eight and Wales 7s international and flanker Ben Roach set for a bow from the bench.

l Hooker Gerard Ellis determined to grasp chance: Page 40