THE Dragons started their season with a horror show against Benetton in the Guinness PRO14. Here are the talking points from the 21-17 loss at Rodney Parade…

A shocking performance to burst the optimism

The Dragons losing to Benetton isn’t a disgrace – the Italians won 11 of 21 last season and doubled Bernard Jackman’s side – but the performance was one to deflate the home support.

Fans headed to Rodney Parade with so much hope but were given precious little to cheer.

The error count was appallingly high, with even the usually dependable Cory Hill in on the act, while at no stage did you feel the Dragons were building up a head of steam.

Worryingly, this was pretty close to the first-choice team; arguably only back row forward Ross Moriarty (suspended), tighthead Aaron Jarvis (bicep) and wing Ashton Hewitt (shoulder) were missing.

The excuses that were used last year were not valid after a beating that was worse than the scoreline suggests.

There were a handful of positives – Jack Dixon carried hard and defended strongly, workaholic Aaron Wainwright picked up where he left off last season, Ollie Griffiths emptied the tank, it didn’t rain – but this was a display that will have the squad squirming in analysis on Monday.

Feeling the heat ahead of a must-win

Jackman, who issued a mea culpa, suggested after the game that his players had not coped with the pressure that they had put on themselves (even though 12 of the XV are internationals).

That heat will only intensify this week for a vital game with the Southern Kings – no, it’s not too early to call it must-win.

The Dragons made errors galore against Benetton with the head coach suggesting that their desire to make a flying start to the season made them snatch at things.

They have to be more assured and deal with the pressure better on Saturday because the home support will be anxious and the Kings will know that they have the chance to make their hosts tense up.

And this is a massive week in the Rodney Parade career of Jackman. The former Ireland hooker has a three-year plan but has to plot a win against Southern Kings and then repeat the trick when Zebre visit a fortnight later.

Set piece struggle

The Dragons played into Benetton’s hands with the amount of mistakes they made to enable the Italians’ hefty pack to put the squeeze on.

However, it was alarming how the Dragons’ lineout faltered in attack (most frustratingly when five metres out in the first half) and in defence their pre-season struggle against the drive continued for the visitors’ opening score.

The Kings aren’t as strong as Benetton in the tight but an improvement is needed with the nuts and bolts, one that may lead to a selection debate...

Tinkering with the team

One selection call is easy – Ross Moriarty has to come into the back row, even given the riches at 6, 7 and 8.

Jackman won’t throw the baby out with the bathwater but he must be considering changing a few players over with Elliot Dee surely getting his 2 jersey back from Richard Hibbard, Brok Harris having a strong case at loosehead for Ryan Bevington and fly-half Josh Lewis perhaps deserving a start ahead of Gavin Henson.

The likelihood is that it will be a similar team against the Kings and two shockers in a row will not be acceptable.