Harsh lesson for Dragons (From South Wales Argus)

Harsh lesson for Dragons

9:30am Monday 17th September 2012 in Dragons Photograph of the Author By Chris Kirwan

SETBACK: Dragons star Dan Lydiate tries to make the hard yards in Saturday’s numbing defeat

NEWPORT Gwent Dragons have made no attempt to sugar-coat their disastrous defeat to fiercest rivals Cardiff Blues, with captain Lewis Evans admitting they face plenty of soul-searching after their Rodney Parade horror show.

There was no talk of taking the positives after Saturday’s 16-5 RaboDirect Pro12 loss because there simply were none.

A miserable evening was made even worse by injuries to increasingly influential centre Andy Tuilagi (calf) and hookers Steve Jones (calf) and Hugh Gustafson (ankle).

They must wait for the results of scans, but if Jones and Gustafson are sidelined then the region is down to just one fit hooker – Sam Parry. The Dragons would need to find a back-up and they could either call for 18-year-old Academy prospect Elliott Dee, who has been playing for Bedwas, or give a chance to a semi-professional, with Cross Keys talisman Gerwyn Price in pole position.

Whoever the region has in its ranks, it doesn’t get any easier for the Dragons.

On Saturday they take on Munster in Limerick, and a repeat of the performance against the Blues would see them drubbed at Thomond Park.

“We didn’t perform and let ourselves down, the coaches down and our fans down,” lamented captain Lewis Evans. “The disappointment is obvious, we are frustrated and annoyed.

“Winning ugly would have been fine but we made far too many errors and need to take a long hard look at ourselves – if we ever want to be a big side then we can’t self-implode like that.

“We looked to target their scrum and it didn’t happen, while our lineout functioned well but what we did off that ball was not good enough.

“There were just far too many mistakes and wrong decisions, which makes this a harsh lesson for everyone, myself included.

“If we do the basics right we will come away with something and be able to hold our heads high, which we can't do at the moment.”

The Dragons didn't even manage to claim a bonus point against their nearest rivals and were left to regret their failure to capitalise when the Blues were down to 14 men.

They opted for a five-metre scrum when visiting prop Nathan Trevett was sin-binned early in the second half but the pressure was released by a penalty and just minutes later Wales wing Alex Cuthbert scored the match-winner.

Head coach Darren Edwards said: “There was a huge swing of momentum and that knocked the stuffing out of us but we have no excuses – we lost a game that needed to be won and we can't hide from that.

“We are on a rocky road if we start talking about errors and wrong options because we just needed to win it, simple as that.”

“It’s a tough league and if we are to get anything from Munster then we need a massive improvement at the contact area and with our starter plays off the set piece.

Comments(25)

rhinestine says...
10:06am Mon 17 Sep 12

Rugby, a simple game complicated by idiots..............
.... They are far too nice, no agression, no real time common sense, and no mental edge.

Report this post »

high x boy says...
10:23am Mon 17 Sep 12

with money so limited why waste money on fire and fireworks before the game.

Report this post »

rhinestine says...
10:54am Mon 17 Sep 12

high x boy wrote:
with money so limited why waste money on fire and fireworks before the game.

Agree! pre-season should have been spent at Crickhowell with some of that lads from 22 or 23 reg, they would have shown them fitness and mental attitude.

Could have spent money on that, rather than pyrotechnics!!

Report this post »

Robert Shillabeer says...
2:44pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Don't agree with the comments about fireworks, they cost a fraction of what a player earns in a week, say about a hundred quid. Adds a bit of show to the event. Two new players recently signed and should make there debuts very soon. The couple of injuries is what fans should be worried about not a bit of bang and fizz.l

Report this post »

Linejudge says...
4:07pm Mon 17 Sep 12

When you put on the NGD jersey, the name on the front is more important than the name on the back.

Go show Munster the name on the front and lets put this blip behind us.

Report this post »

Doberman1 says...
4:21pm Mon 17 Sep 12

high x boy wrote:
with money so limited why waste money on fire and fireworks before the game.

Because they provide the only entertainment of the evening...... Get rid of the players, the coach in fact the whole lot of 'em and buy more fireworks, at least we would be guaranteed an entertaining night at RP without the inevitable disappointment at the end!!!

Report this post »

spaniard says...
4:42pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Having read the comments on three different pages surely everybody cannot be wrong about the coaching staff and management, the dragons region is living on a knife edge as it is, with team performances like the one against Cardiff , the crowds will become smaller and smaller and by the end of this season there will be no dragons as they will have become bankrupt, the management need to do something very quickly or the region will die

Report this post »

Dragons den says...
4:53pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Yea, points lost on easy kicks, no decision to change the kicker when Jones seemed less phased by the occasion. So that was disappointing, the ball was given to the blues to score the try by the Dragons! Then a great move off the front of the lineout that nearly resulted in a try for the Dragons. Don’t know enough about the laws of the game to judge if the Ref was good bad or indifferent!
But what I do know is that the Dragons did not go out there to lose. They showed against Leinster in the second half that they have the team to move up the table and compete…… they have just got to believe it themselves.
Turning that under performance into a high-performance will take skill, focus, determination and support on the part of everyone, including us the supporters and I for one will be paying my money to go and watch a sport I love and support my team through the good and the not so good times.

Report this post »

Robert Shillabeer says...
5:11pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Dragons den your not alone, a poor performance made worse by a very poor ref. lots of critisism of players and the coaching team but what about the dismal performance of the match officials, oops sorry not allowed to make any critisism of them are we.

Report this post »

Robert Shillabeer says...
5:12pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Report this post »

Doberman1 says...
5:44pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Robert Shillabeer wrote:
Dragons den your not alone, a poor performance made worse by a very poor ref. lots of critisism of players and the coaching team but what about the dismal performance of the match officials, oops sorry not allowed to make any critisism of them are we.

I don't think anyone would disagree with the comments about the ref Robert, he was poor, but he was not to blame for our performance. You however continue to see the performance of players and coaching team through rose tinted glasses, please offer me some hope that my observations about lack of professionalism from players and coaches is wrong. Offer me some thoughts on how as a region we have moved forward under DE and his coaching team. Give me something which suggests things will improve. Face it, as a region we are skint so no magic financial solution in sight leaving us requiring a motivational coach who instills professionalism into the squad thus ensuring some of the amateur behaviour seen on Saturday ( and for most of last season) will be eradicated.....or do you just want things to continue as is, losing regularly without challenge from the customers who pay the wages?

Report this post »

Robert Shillabeer says...
7:51pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Doberman, I have not said everything is rosy, the Dragons played poorly on Saturday but then so did the Blues, and the Ospreys on Friday night. The better players in Welsh rugby, and two were Dragons have all departed so It will take some time for the game in Wales to settle down after the exodus. The Ospreys have yet to win a game but there is no abuse and critisism being given to thier management team. Next weeks game is another tough one so this week must be about getting the performance back on track and I bet we get another useless ref or maybe we get a Southern Hemesphere ref or at least Wayne Barnes who are far better than the numpty's we normally get.

Report this post »

Welshman76 says...
8:14pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Perhaps the players should spend more time training than eating in Nandos!!

Report this post »

CaptainB says...
8:24pm Mon 17 Sep 12

WANTED

Ray Williams Coaching Leaflets.

Beginners Level needed urgently!!

Apply to....

P.O. Box DE,

Rodney Parade.

NEWPORT.

Report this post »

GazzaH says...
8:39pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Only plus from the game was that we got to see a boy who will go on and be a future Wales 10. No, it's not Steffan Jones unfortunately.

Report this post »

Doberman1 says...
8:50pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Robert Shillabeer wrote:
Doberman, I have not said everything is rosy, the Dragons played poorly on Saturday but then so did the Blues, and the Ospreys on Friday night. The better players in Welsh rugby, and two were Dragons have all departed so It will take some time for the game in Wales to settle down after the exodus. The Ospreys have yet to win a game but there is no abuse and critisism being given to thier management team. Next weeks game is another tough one so this week must be about getting the performance back on track and I bet we get another useless ref or maybe we get a Southern Hemesphere ref or at least Wayne Barnes who are far better than the numpty's we normally get.

Nothing changes Robert, we were generally poor with Brew & Charteris or was the league table wrong? The difference between us and The Ospreys is that their current form could be considered a " blip" in the context of their normal level of performance whereas ours is consistent, week in week out, season in season out. As I said offer me some hope. If I wanted to see amateur standard rugby strewn with inconsistent performances and a shrug of the shoulders when defeated then I would go to any park in Newport on Saturday afternoon and save myself £180 a year not including drinks etc! As long as The Dragons present themselves as a pro rugby team then I expect to see professionalism, I can accept the odd lapse but what we get (and you surely cannot argue this) is generally poor. In no other pro team would the coach still be in situ after such an abysmal record and without any obvious signs of improvement.
Please Robert offer me and the majority of posters on this (and other) forums something that says getting rid of DE is not the correct course to take.

Report this post »

emlynkide says...
9:59pm Mon 17 Sep 12

its enough to drive you to drink, two very bad sides, an even worse ref. and assists. or maybe thats the plan to get us to buy more ale, never mind the county is keeping the flag flying!.

Report this post »

dragons boy says...
10:20pm Mon 17 Sep 12

When is the Coach and Director of Rugby going to be shown the Door?

This was a poor Cardiff Blues side with mainly players who had come through the Cardiff Club side.
The time for change is long overdue!

Report this post »

Robert Shillabeer says...
12:03am Tue 18 Sep 12

Doberman, Luke Charteris was unfit for most of last season so you can count his part out of the equation. Brew played well but he has gone for the second time for pastures new, perhaps he will return, who knows? There are lots of new players in the Welsh sides this season but look at the internationals the Blues and Ospreys have and they are finding things a bit hard so far. How many wins have the Osprey got? Oh none, the Blues are not much better, the Scarlets however have a 100% record so far, youth is what they did two seasons ago and it seems to be paying off, the Dragons are second with the Ospreys andBlues a bit further behind. The Scarlets to be top Welsh region this year it seems.

Report this post »

Doberman1 says...
8:06am Tue 18 Sep 12

Robert Shillabeer wrote:
Doberman, Luke Charteris was unfit for most of last season so you can count his part out of the equation. Brew played well but he has gone for the second time for pastures new, perhaps he will return, who knows? There are lots of new players in the Welsh sides this season but look at the internationals the Blues and Ospreys have and they are finding things a bit hard so far. How many wins have the Osprey got? Oh none, the Blues are not much better, the Scarlets however have a 100% record so far, youth is what they did two seasons ago and it seems to be paying off, the Dragons are second with the Ospreys andBlues a bit further behind. The Scarlets to be top Welsh region this year it seems.

Robert, you brought Charteris and Brew up not me. My contention and that of pretty much every poster and fan I speak to is the coaching regime is out of its depth and must be changed, you appear to continually resist that idea, instead blaming match officials. Based on your last post we will be the second Welsh region, hope so but no chance whatsoever. Would you be happy for us the be the second region yet still finish in the bottom end of the league? You also focus on youth and that this will eventually take us to the promised land, how long will you accept the current standards of performances and professionalism before you expect to see a pro rugby team playing and behaving like one? This is a results business, I don't care what any other team is or is not doing because our results are not good enough, if this continues unchecked attendances and income will fall and the region will fold.....but don't worry Robert, it will all come good with time.

Report this post »

kalwales@hotmail.com says...
9:11am Tue 18 Sep 12

thanks for these comments guys it really mad my day reading them, im not suprised to hear of SOME not ALL blaming the referee to defelct attention away from yet another "Laboured" peformance both on and off the field,

Robert i notice you criticise Referee's alot, how about you join us at the next referee's seminar and we'll get you a few games and we'll all come along and watch you referee the perfect game

I have been saying for AGES that SOME NOT ALL players are not playing for the badge but i just get either barracked or banned from teh site or my post removed,

Plain and simple, at your region the people behined the secenes are their fort themselves and the freebies, they take the mikey out of you fans i say that and i quote "yet again Dragons Fans are kept waiting for their replica jerseys" for yet another season yet they hav etaken your money ??

Report this post »

Robert Shillabeer says...
12:31pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Kal, I'm far to old to even try running around a pitch for a minute let alone 80 minutes. Anyway probably send all 30 players off for running rings around me. I do however study the laws of rugby union as a hobby as well as supporting several rugby teams, Dragons, Newport, Caldicot (occasionally) and even thinking of going to Ebbw Vale next Saturday to watch the game against Pontypool. I do critise refs quite a bit simply because they ave not moved up with the demands of the modern game, they lack a high degree of proffessioalism that the game demands and make some very poor decisitions, miss important aspects of play brought about by some very poor assistants. Welsh refs have only one or two who make the grade, Scotland have none and Ireland possibly one, Italy have none, unsure about English refs but they are far and few between. The northern hemisphere need to get help from SA, NZ, and Australia to even lift the standard somewhere near an acceptable standard I'm afraid, me far too old though but thanks for the invite.

Report this post »

b3talover says...
1:06pm Tue 18 Sep 12

kalwales@hotmail.com wrote:
thanks for these comments guys it really mad my day reading them, im not suprised to hear of SOME not ALL blaming the referee to defelct attention away from yet another "Laboured" peformance both on and off the field,

Robert i notice you criticise Referee's alot, how about you join us at the next referee's seminar and we'll get you a few games and we'll all come along and watch you referee the perfect game

I have been saying for AGES that SOME NOT ALL players are not playing for the badge but i just get either barracked or banned from teh site or my post removed,

Plain and simple, at your region the people behined the secenes are their fort themselves and the freebies, they take the mikey out of you fans i say that and i quote "yet again Dragons Fans are kept waiting for their replica jerseys" for yet another season yet they hav etaken your money ??

Not satisfied for getting banned on one website for being a pain in the rear, you resort to Facebook and this forum to preach your referee drivel. "Oooh oooh look at me, I'm a referee don't you know, I'm so special. I'll cry if I'm not the centre of attention" Yawn. Give it a rest! No one cares!

Report this post »

Euwan Usami says...
9:07pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Linejudge wrote:
When you put on the NGD jersey, the name on the front is more important than the name on the back.

Go show Munster the name on the front and lets put this blip behind us.

Have you seen this seasons shirt? That's not a name on the front! ;)

Report this post »

East Newport Dave says...
6:26pm Wed 19 Sep 12

I empathise with rugby referees. It seems that supporters want to blame them for the inadequacies of their team. In simple terms, if the Dragons were good enough they would win marginal games. They are not good enough and look poorly coached/managed. Nothing to do with getting a bad ref every week!

Report this post »

click2find

Harsh lesson for Dragons (From South Wales Argus)

Dragons RSS Feed

Harsh lesson for Dragons

click2find

Jobs

Dating

Homes

Cars

About cookies