THE Newport Gwent Dragons are too good to be languishing near the bottom of the Celtic League table, insisted skipper Jason Forster after the New Year's Day morale-boosting Celtic League victory over the Ospreys.
The Dragons brought an end to a four-match losing streak and climbed above their Welsh rivals near the foot of the table to hand themselves a timely boost in their bid to qualify for next season's Heineken Cup.
Denying the Ospreys a bonus point also helped, and the Dragons are now on 19 points, trailing Llanelli Scarlets, who face Cardiff Blues today, by four points. It really was a must-win game for the Dragons, and they face another at Rodney Parade on Friday night against the bottom team Connacht.
"The important thing was we got the win, which will boost morale and confidence," said Forster after his first start for a month because of a groin injury.
"The injury feels fine, now we need to sustain this form for a longer period and cut out all those silly errors," he said.
"It's a new year and a new start for us. We need to build on this and start climbing the table, we're too good a squad to be languishing where we are.
"We need our international players to be at the top of their game and the youngsters to be more consistent, like Gareth Chapman has been.
"It was paramount we got this win, now we've got to have another against Connacht. We've got to go out there and keep buzzing and be like wounded animals.
"We were nervous at the start against the Ospreys, the stakes were high and we were fighting for European qualification with its huge financial implications.
"With players like Kevin Morgan, Gareth Wyatt, Nathan Brew and Jamie Ringer out it showed the resolve we had.
"We've got to prove we can get out of this and show we've got the attitude and resolve which can pull us through."
Dragons coach Paul Turner admitted: "We had to win this one, the Ospreys haven't had their four points yet for not playing, so if we'd lost it would have taken us even further away.
"This will now hold us in good stead. We kept the ball far better and we contested the line-out well. Had we been more confident maybe we would have taken the bonus point that was on offer.
"Steve Jones was outstanding after being doubtful against his so-called home team, and Craig Warlow (a second-half replacement for Ceri Sweeney) did what he does every week - he brought an element of control."
Bemused Ospreys coach Lyn Jones confessed: "It was rubbish, a substandard performance from lots of people, and questions need to be asked. But we did have a perfectly good try disallowed and another came from an interception."
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