FIVE THINGS BRIVE NEWPORT Gwent Dragons were knocked out of the European Challenge Cup after losing at Brive. Here are five things from the 36-19 loss at the Stade Amedee-Domenech.

1: Scrum struggles

The Dragons have made strides this season under the stewardship of forwards coach Ceri Jones but they have suffered two painful afternoons in the Challenge Cup, at Worcester in December and at Brive.

Even if tighthead Brok Harris had been available (the influential South African was absent because of personal reasons) then they would have been tested by the strong French pack.

They were frequently penalised by English referee Craig Maxwell-Keys, allowing Brive to either release pressure or pile it on through their driving lineout.

“I contend a few things about the refereeing of the scrum. There was a lot of standing up and shearing across,” said head coach Kingsley Jones afterwards.

“We were second best there but on occasions we didn’t get much back (from Maxwell-Keys). But the score today wasn’t the referee’s fault.”

Thankfully scrum problems have been less frequent in recent seasons but this was a tough 80 minutes.

2: Game-breakers

The Dragons are a different side when they have either Hallam Amos or Ashton Hewitt out wide.

They are players whose unpredictability poses problems for opposition and they have an ability to conjure something out of nothing.

Pat Howard is a more physical winger but lacks pure pace or cunning while Adam Hughes, primarily a 13, is still finding his feet after his lengthy head injury.

The only player who offered something really different in the Dragons side in Brive was livewire scrum-half Sarel Pretorius.

3: Heavy hitters

A familiar lament here, the Dragons struggle in terms of bulk.

Brive possessed a number of players with the ability to burst through tackles, chiefly number eight-turned lock Sisaro Koyamaibole and centre Seremaia Burotu.

The Dragons have some good ball carriers but not quite in that destructive manner which is why they hope Harri Keddie, who it must be said is not a gargantuan figure, continues to develop and why they hope that Bedwas’ Robson Blake is an unpolished diamond.

However, that they are turning to the academy and Bridge Field to try and add some oomph as opposed to throwing money at the issue tells its own story.

4: Euro deflation

We’ve been spoilt over the past two seasons with memorable quarter-final successes against Cardiff Blues and Gloucester.

That means it will be galling come the weekend of March 30 when the Blues and Ospreys have last-eight ties to look forward to.

It’s the Dragons own fault for failing at Enisei-STM and Worcester – two eminently winnable games – and they now need to keep their focus.

They have to ensure they finish above at least one of Edinburgh and Connacht in the Guinness PRO12 with a key period coming up featuring February fixtures with Munster (a), Connacht (a) and Leinster (h).

The Dragons have to see it as an opportunity in Six Nations period rather than being daunted by three pretty tough encounters.

5: Bravo Brive

Frequently French teams treat the Challenge Cup with distain but Brive want to enjoy a proper tilt in Europe to mark lifting the Heineken Cup in 1997.

They have an anniversary event planned on the day of the England-France game when the Six Nations action will be followed by a re-run of their famous success against Leicester in Cardiff.

Players always talk about loving playing in France and there is always a sense of occasion at grounds, even when it is ‘only’ the second tier.

Brive have a tough task in the quarters when taking on Bath at the Rec but fingers crossed they can cause an upset because the Challenge Cup means a lot to them.

They are a good side who have only lost once all season at the Stade Amedee-Domenech – to Clermont Auvergne – and they just had far too much forward power for the Dragons. Chapeau.