THE games came thick and fast for the Dragons in the first block of the United Rugby Championship but now they must stew on their poorest performance until the end of November.

The Rodney Parade club failed to finish the first chunk of the campaign as they had started, going down 31-7 at Connacht in a poor game in Galway.

It was a deflating display and one that contrasted starkly to those put in by the Dragons on home soil against the Ospreys, Sharks, Lions and parts of the defeat to Benetton.

For all the good work done by Dai Flanagan’s side, it’s deflating to see them finish the first block of the URC in a familiar spot in the table, tussling with Zebre Parma to avoid being last.

They might be staying in the fight longer but, sadly, they are still losing them.

DENIED: The Sharks scored at the death against the DragonsDENIED: The Sharks scored at the death against the Dragons (Image: Gareth Everett)

While it is true to point out that they have lost to sides that boast more spending power, it is also a fact that they are already playing catch-up (again) on Welsh rivals that also have financial struggles and small squads.

Both Cardiff and the Scarlets are already on 16 points - the total that the Rodney Parade club notched in the entire 2023/24 campaign.

The Ospreys, who will be kicking themselves for failing to seal the win in Newport on opening weekend, are three ahead of the Dragons on 10.

Four games at home out of the first six presented an opportunity for a fast start but instead they now need to make up lost ground on the road... and they haven't won away in the URC since April, 2022.

Now the Dragons must wait a month for the chance to put things right and they go straight into a run of games that will shape their season, and possibly determine some futures.

HAMMERED: Ashton Hewitt is smashed in the Dragons' 55-21 humiliation in Cardiff last yearHAMMERED: Ashton Hewitt is smashed in the Dragons' 55-21 humiliation in Cardiff last year (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

The action returns with a derby trip to Cardiff Arms Park – scene of last year’s 55-21 humiliation that was even worse than the scoreline suggests – then there are Challenge Cup games against Montpellier (home) and Newcastle (away) when the foundations must be laid for a January push for knockout rugby.

They go from the north-east of England back to south Wales for a pair of festive derbies with Cardiff heading to Newport on Boxing Day before the joys of bringing in 2025 in Llanelli.

The pre-Six Nations block finishes with Pau at home then the Lions away in ‘Europe’, then a Parade fixture against Munster.

Head coach Flanagan rightly says that they have to focus on the processes at Ystrad Mynach in order to get better but that can only be said if there is the occasional good outcome.

The Dragons were one from six in the first block when they really needed to have a minimum of two successes, and the failure to finish the job against the Sharks looks the costly one.

They cannot afford to rack up the sob stories over the winter; it will only be possible to laud a tougher edge, more physicality, a better culture and bright potential if there are wins in the URC and Challenge Cup.

The Dragons cannot hide from the fact that their embarrassing Cardiff hoodoo, a 17-game losing streak that goes back to the Challenge Cup quarter-final in 2015, needs to be ended while French scalps at Rodney Parade would provide a massive lift.

It’s professional sport and outcomes are needed to keep the punters, who have stuck with their side despite so few successes, on side.

POSITIVE: Shane Lewis-Hughes has started well at the DragonsPOSITIVE: Shane Lewis-Hughes has started well at the Dragons (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

There were early positives in the first block with blindside Shane Lewis-Hughes making a big early impression after his arrival from Cardiff, scrum-half Rhodri Williams earning a Wales recall, lock Ben Carter making an encouraging start to life as a captain, hooker Brodie Coghlan taking his opportunity to be a starter.

Dynamic back rower Taine Basham has shown flashes of his 2021 form while flanker Harri Keddie and centre Aneurin Owen never let anybody down.

For all that, the Dragons recorded just one win and that ratio needs to improve rapidly.

Realistic progress isn’t pushing for the URC play-offs, a desire that the ownership group have previously stated, but it should be ensuring the battle to avoid being Wales’ worst in the league at least goes to the wire.

European fixtures included, they should have a target of beating their 2022/23 tally of five successes - that is not an outrageous expectation.

Are the Dragons better this season? I would say yes, but the results need to show that.

KEY BLOCK – THE DRAGONS' WINTER FIXTURES

  • November 30 - Cardiff (away), URC.
  • December 6 - Montpellier (home), CC.
  • December 15 - Newcastle (away), CC.
  • December 26 - Cardiff (home), URC.
  • January 1 - Scarlets (away), URC.
  • January 12 - Pau (home), CC.
  • January 18 - Lions (away), CC.
  • January 25 - Munster (home), URC.