DRAGONS boss Dean Ryan was frustrated that his side lacked the composure to do a derby double over the Ospreys.

The Rodney Parade region failed to back up their January win in Newport despite playing with a man advantage for over an hour at the Liberty Stadium.

Wales wing George North was shown a red card for taking out Ashton Hewitt in the air at a restart in the 14th minute.

But the Dragons, in their first game in six months because of the coronavirus pandemic, were hindered by a glut of handling errors and a faltering lineout.

That left them needed a last-gasp try by Hewitt, who scored in the first half along with tighthead Leon Brown, to share the spoils.

South Wales Argus:

“The red card just made us try and make every play the big play, we just lost composure,” said director of rugby Ryan.

“When the opposition get a red card you just make them work so hard that in the last 10 or 15 minutes you can walk it over the line.

“We showed some of our inexperience in trying to make every play; we made some great breaks and then the ball would come flying back instead of just recycling to go.

“That was some of our exuberance, it’s been a long time since we played and lots of people would have wanted to make that play.”

The Dragons last played in March when beaten by Benetton in Newport and finish their 2019/20 Guinness PRO14 campaign against the Scarlets on Saturday.

That is followed by the European Challenge Cup quarter-final against Bristol on September 18 and the start of the 2020/21 league campaign on the first weekend of August.

As usual, Ryan was keen to look at the bigger picture.

“If this was a pre-season game, I would be talking really positively and I’m not going to lose that just because it’s a local derby,” he said.

“I am pretty pleased with some of the performances –some of the young guys had never played at that intensity against the likes of Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric.”