WHILE new Exiles boss Terry Butcher rips it all up and starts all over again at Rodney Parade, Newport Gwent Dragons director of rugby Lyn Jones has declared he is "three miles further down the road" than last summer as he starts plotting for next season.

The Rodney Parade signed off for 2014/15 with an unlikely bonus point in a rather bizarre 50-27 thumping at the hands of Guinness Pro12 title favourites Munster in Cork.

It moved the ninth-placed Dragons' league tally to 42 points, a highest tally for four years, and ensured they finished seven points ahead of lowest-ranked Welsh side Cardiff Blues.

After a sticky, injury-plagued start to the campaign the region finished strongly and unlike their fellow Rodney Parade tenants Newport County, who last week released 13 players, they have solid foundations in place for 2015/16 with few exits and a handful of arrivals.

"We are three miles further down the road than last year," said Jones, who will enjoy his third campaign at the helm. "Our change phase has finished and we will have a squad that we are happy with.

"We are going about our business with good young players and strong overseas signings and we will be in good stead next season if you add the likes of (the injured) Elliot Dee, Lewis Evans, Andrew Coombs, (new South Africa scrum-half) Sarel Pretorius.

"We are trying to turn things around and have changed the culture and the way that we have gone about our business. There is real promise here."

The Dragons were second best throughout in Cork but still managed to leave the Irish province with something to show for their efforts for the first time since 2007 thanks to tries by wing Ashton Hewitt, outside centre Tyler Morgan, hooker Rhys Buckley and inside centre Jack Dixon.

It was a game that was done and dusted just past the quarter thanks to a powerful display by the Munstermen, who will now host the Ospreys in the semi-finals in Limerick.

"We are upset to have lost the game in the first 20 minutes," said Jones. "There were a lot of motivated Munster people both on and off the field and the penalty count crucified us. We just couldn't get anything going.

"It was difficult to get a foothold but we had our opportunities and weren't as clinical or precise as Munster, who look the best team in the league.

"This was as tough a game as it gets, I don't think may teams in Europe would have come here and won against a motivated Munster side.

"I am sure we created the same amount of opportunities in the 22 but they took theirs without too much fuss while we had to work very, very hard for ours.

"We we were pleased to come away with a fourth four-try bonus of the season and we didn't give up, constantly coming back at them to bring some credibility to the scoreline."