AFTER a 14-month wait for a victory it would be understandable if Nick Scott had fallen out of love with rugby but the enthusiastic winger is chomping at the bit to get going with Newport Gwent Dragons.

The last time that the 25-year-old from Hereford enjoyed a success was on June 4, 2014 when London Welsh beat Bristol to secure their promotion to the Aviva Premiership.

Their reward for that memorable evening at the Memorial Stadium was a nightmare season in the top-flight of English rugby.

The Exiles lost all 22 league games, all six European Rugby Challenge Cup fixtures and all four LV= Cup encounters.

The closest they came to glory was at Rodney Parade when edged out 17-13 in the Anglo-Welsh Cup – "we were winning while I was playing so I will strike that down as a half a win" – but Scott didn't allow a challenging campaign to taint his time with London Welsh.

"Last year was really tough but the boys still tried every week," he said. "Nobody chucked the towel in or starting pointing fingers at one another.

"We were still trying to win and improve but it wasn't the best season so it's nice to get a new start and a fresh opportunity.

"I will almost appreciate everything more because of last year. It wasn't a gradual decline, it was bad from the off and unfortunately we didn't get much better.

"Now I will appreciate being in games where you have put the hard work in and get the rewards. I will enjoy the little things that you might take for granted."

A major factor in Scott heading over the border was the chance to work under Dragons director of rugby Lyn Jones again.

He was at the helm at Old Deer Park when Welsh got promoted to the Premiership in 2012 and they gave bloody noses to the big boys before eventually suffering relegation, hindered by a five-point deduction for fielding ineligible player Tyson Keats.

"I think that we are all still aggrieved about the way that we went down!" said Scott, who played for Bristol and Bath before moving to London Welsh.

"But I was attracted to the Dragons because of the opportunity to play under Lyn again. I really enjoyed our time in the Championship and Premiership and I felt like I was always learning and became a better player under him.

"Lyn is constantly looking for players to improve. He has been there and done it, so that's a tick in the box and you know there is merit behind what he is saying.

"He is always looking for individual players to improve and sees things that we wouldn't look at. He always picks up on the finer details. He is also great to be around and there's a good environment."

Scott has settled in swiftly at the Dragons, just like fellow new recruits Ed Jackson, Charlie Davies, Shaun Knight, Adam Warren and Sarel Pretorius.

Now the winger is focused on producing a strong performance against Cardiff Blues on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 12.30pm) so that he can earn a start for the big Guinness Pro12 opener at Connacht next Friday.

"I think it will be closer to the team that Lyn thinks might be his best for Connacht but there is definitely room for him to change that," said Scott.

"We need a good performance and a good result to give us the boost going into Connacht so that we can make a good start to the season.

"There is real strength in depth across the whole back three, especially if you add Hallam Amos into that, hopefully after the World Cup. I would say this, but I think it's one of our strongest positions."