SAREL Pretorius says Newport Gwent Dragons must grind their way to an away win if they are to get over their European disappointment by finishing the season strongly in the Guinness PRO12.

For the first time since 2014, the Dragons won't have Challenge Cup rugby to look forward to in the second half of the season after they were beaten by Brive in their Pool Three decider.

Pretorius, who scored two tries at the Stade Amedee-Domenech, believes that they can still make it a memorable 2016/17 by finishing strongly in the league but knows they have to cure their travel sickness.

The Dragons have lost all 10 away games in all competitions this season and have not enjoyed a PRO12 win outside Newport since thumping Treviso in March, 2015, a streak of 20 league defeats on their travels.

Kingsley Jones' side sit ninth in the table and are in a 'mini league' battle with champions Connacht, who are two points ahead of them, and Edinburgh, who are one back.

It's not impossible that the Dragons could reel in the seventh-placed Cardiff Blues, who are eight ahead, but that will need them to complement their impressive Newport record with some points on their travels.

February pits them against leaders Munster in Cork and Connacht in Galway along with a home meeting with Leinster on the eve of Wales' Six Nations fixture in Scotland.

"It's the story of the season, we have been playing well at home but need to get that mindset away," said scrum-half Pretorius.

"If we can finish strongly by winning our home games and getting a couple of away wins then it will be great for us.

"Next week we have the Anglo-Welsh with Newcastle Falcons (at home) and we have to dust ourselves off and start it off again.

"In the PRO12 we've got Munster and Connacht away and Leinster at home, they are tough games and we are going to be tested.

"We have to move from the mentality we have away from home at the moment and just grind out a win."

Pretorius was to the fore in Brive as the Dragons fought back from a nightmare start, scoring two tries to help them turn from 15-0 down after 15 minutes to be just 22-19 behind on the hour.

However, the French side piled the pressure on with their bulky pack to take the spoils and earn an away quarter-final at Bath.

"It was frustrating. At the end of the game they just kept pressuring us and we couldn't get clean ball," said Pretorius.

"We wanted to have an attacking mindset to chase that fourth try, in the end we couldn't get it but the boys showed a lot of heart.

"We were in it but critical errors at crucial moments at the wrong end of the pitch cost us."

The Dragons will ring the changes for Sunday's date with Newcastle, which is followed by an away Anglo-Welsh clash at Gloucester a week on Saturday.

Their last away win in all competitions came at Kingsholm in last year's Challenge Cup quarter-final.