Dragons boss Dean Ryan wants his side to build some momentum on the training pitch before they return to competitive action with a Scottish double-header in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

Ryan’s men wrapped up the first block of games in the URC with a narrow defeat to regional rivals Cardiff Rugby last weekend.

The players now have a week to rest up and recover before a return to training.

And director of rugby Ryan has outlined his plans to build up to the home fixture with Edinburgh Rugby at Rodney Parade on November 27 before a trip to Glasgow Warriors on December 4.

“We’ve got a week off to freshen some bodies up and then, when we come back in, we are going to try and play an in-house game,” he said.

“We’ve got so many guys that have not played enough rugby, so that is important.

“We are then hopefully playing an A fixture just to get some of those fringe guys some rugby.

“The players that have played four or five games need freshening up and we will look at how we can come back into Edinburgh and Glasgow with some real momentum.

“We are playing well,” he added. “But we need to be smarter about the things that we do well and make sure they are on the field.

“We also need to keep working at the areas of weakness – that is our report after this first block of games.”

Dragons started the game with Cardiff Rugby in fine form and powered into a 14-3 lead – courtesy of tries from Taylor Davies and Mesake Doge – with some fast-paced rugby in the opening quarter.

It was a blueprint for success that Ryan is determined Dragons will build on as the season progresses.

He said: “Anyone who has watched us over the last four or five weeks has seen it, and I have spoken to three or four opposition coaches who have been worried about the way we can play.

“Whether it is Ross (Moriarty), Aaron (Wainwright), Harrison (Keddie), it is the speed that we can come around and the number of people who can carry.

“We can see the game we want to play, we have all bought into wanting that game, but I don’t think we were as accurate as we wanted in the second half against Cardiff.

“People went into solo mode and that is a challenge for us to be better.”

l Three members of Dragons ALLSTARS - the region’s mixed ability set-up – are preparing to represent the first-ever Mixed Ability Rugby Invitational Club (MARIs) in December.

Gareth Sullivan, Connor Rice and Gary Thomas have been named in the squad to face Llanelli Warriors at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday, December 4.

Dragons Community Coach Karen Burgess will also be supporting the team as physio.

Established in 2021, the MARIs were created to bring players and coaches together from around the world to form rugby’s first mixed ability invitational team and play exhibition matches.

The game was originally due to take place in July but has now been rescheduled due to the pandemic.

Players from 16 clubs and seven countries will be represented and the game is being played to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of Llanelli Warriors.