IT was all about the result on the opening weekend of the Guinness PRO14 but the Dragons fell drastically short after being outplayed by Benetton at Rodney Parade.

Big changes were made over the summer to ensure there was an optimistic mood ahead of the Newport curtain-raiser yet supporters left the ground lamenting familiar failings.

The Dragons made the perfect start with an early interception try for debutant Dafydd Howells but things went downhill and three-try Benetton deservedly left with the spoils.

The hosts, aided by missed kicks by the Italians, rallied late to have the chance of a burglary but they could not grumble about the result and had to be content with a losing bonus.

Bernard Jackman fielded an XV featuring 12 internationals yet the error count was sky high – handling and lineout their major problems – and it was the Italians who were the well-drilled outfit.

It may not be time to panic just yet, as a horror start is just that - a start.

But fail to beat Southern Kings in Newport on Saturday afternoon and the grumbles towards the head coach, which were occasional from the Rodney Road stand and terrace, will become almost as loud as they were in this game towards his compatriot, referee George Clancy.

That is because the PRO14 fixture computer has thrown up a golden opportunity in September after a miserable 2017/18 that featured just two league wins.

With three of the first four games in Newport, the Dragons have to make a flying start to the campaign and round one would set the tone.

They failed to get the result OR the performance, heaping the pressure on for their clash with South Africans and the round four meeting with Zebre.

The Dragons knew that it would be no cakewalk against a Benetton side who doubled them last season on their way to a superb tally of 11 wins from 21. So it proved.

The pre-match call had been to give the long-suffering fans plenty to cheer and that was achieved with a first try of the season after just 69 seconds.

It wasn’t created – wing Dafydd Howells intercepted for a try on debut that fly-half Gavin Henson converted – but that didn’t matter.

However, 7-0 swiftly became 7-5 after Benetton exposed a pre-season failing to kick penalties to the corner for a driving lineout try for lock Alessandro Zanni.

It was a tight tussle but the Dragons should have earned more breathing space on 20 minutes only for Howells to drop Jordan Williams’ (slightly inaccurate) pass five metres out with the line begging.

The frustration grew shortly afterwards when a superb Henson penalty kick earned a five-metre lineout only for Richard Hibbard’s throw to go to nobody.

It was a facet of the game that was wobbling with Wales hooker Elliot Dee an interested observer from the bench.

The Dragons were made to pay for their profligacy when fly-half Tommaso, the Italy fly-half with Scottish roots, knocked over a penalty in the 30th minute for an 8-7 lead. He swiftly repeated the trick for 11-7 and the hosts needed to regain their composure.

Jackman’s side were second best yet finished the half on top and should have narrowed the deficit – hard carrying by impressive centre Jack Dixon, back row forward Ollie Griffiths and wing Hallam Amos worked to within inches of the line.

Benetton infringed but got away with it when scrum-half Rhodri Williams tapped quickly and then prop Ryan Bevington knocked on.

South Wales Argus:

It was a frustrating end to a familiarly frustrating half.

The Dragons got the all-important first points after the restart through the right boot of Henson yet they failed to deal with the restart and were put under intense pressure by Benetton’s power players.

The hosts eventually cracked with flanker Braam Steyn cutting a nice line to cross from close range for a 16-10 lead.

It soon got worse. On 57 minutes centre Alberto Sgarbi charged into the 22 and his offload was gathered by Zanni for his second try.

The Dragons were still in touch at 21-10 thanks to Allan’s radar being off but the error count was rocketing and, sadly, heads seemed to have dropped.

Yet out of nowhere they had a lifeline with five minutes left thanks to a strong carry by Dixon and then a finish from Rhodri Williams, replacement fly-half Josh Lewis adding the conversion swiftly.

They tried desperately to attack from deep and burgle the points but they never looked likely to burst clear, leaving them with plenty of head scratching to do before next weekend.

Dragons: J Williams, D Howells, T Morgan, J Dixon, H Amos, G Henson (J Lewis 57), R Williams, R Bevington (B Harris 53), R Hibbard (E Dee 53), L Brown (L Fairbrother 53), B Nansen (M Screech 53), C Hill (captain), L Evans (H Taylor 66), A Wainwright, O Griffiths.

Scorers: tries – D Howells, R Williams; conversions – G Henson, J Lewis; penalty – G Henson

Benetton: J Hayward, R Tavuyara (T Iannone 73), T Benvenuti, A Sgarbi, M Ioane, T Allan, T Tebaldi, F Zani (D Appiah 12), H Faiva (E Makalara 52), T Pasquali (S Ferrari 46), A Zanni (M Fuser 57), D Budd (captain), A Steyn, S Negri (F Ruzza 71), M Barnini (M Lazzaroni 68).

Scorers: tries – A Zanni (2), A Steyn; penalties – T Allan (2)

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Attendance: 4,613

Argus star man: Jack Dixon