DRAGONS boss Dai Flanagan pointed the finger at the senior figures in his side after the 40-7 United Rugby Championship hammering at Glasgow.
The Rodney Parade club suffered a six-try defeat at Scotstoun Stadium on Saturday night and it would have been much worse had the Warriors been more clinical.
The Dragons missed 39 tackles and allowed 25 clean breaks in a defensive horror show in Glasgow.
They were without 21 players because of injury and international call-ups, which led to a youthful bench, but Flanagan expected more from his starters.
The Dragons conceded the opener to Josh McKay after just 26 seconds and then Stafford McDowall went over for a second with three minutes on the clock, setting the tone for the evening.
Could you have asked for a better start @GlasgowWarriors? 🤯
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) February 17, 2024
Repping @KaiapoiRFC Josh McKay gets over the line with the Warriors first touch of the evening ⚡️#BKTURC #GrassrootsToGreatness #OriginRound #GLAvDRA pic.twitter.com/7cVi3zIBff
“We gave two easy tries for Glasgow at the start. We had three men in contact and their guy popped out of the side,” said the head coach.
“It’s not acceptable from the first play of the match. We need to be hitting them and putting them on the deck.
“Our changing room is like a war zone and for some periods it was like men versus kids. We’ve got to improve them quickly.”
“A lot was down to intent,” he continued. “When someone runs at you it is personal and you have got to finish that, and we didn’t, and they did. That’s why we have come off the side we have.”
The Dragons saw flanker George Young, full-back Cai Evans, loosehead Rhodri Jones, number eight Dan Lydiate and wing Jared Rosser go off injured.
They are next in action against Ulster in Belfast on March 2 and it’s unlikely that many of those that failed to make the Glasgow game will be off the injured list.
“We’ve also got to stick with this young group now going forward because it’s not going to change anytime soon, and we’ve got to get better,” said Flanagan.
“It was bitterly disappointing. We had an experienced starting team and to concede 14 points so quick was tough.”
The Dragons are still yet to win away from Newport this season and have suffered heavy URC losses at Munster, the Sharks, Lions, Cardiff and Glasgow.
Things don’t get any easier with a trip to Ravenhill, with Flanagan saying: “The away form could be psychological but talking about it and feeling sorry for ourselves isn’t going to help, we need to make it better.
“We’ve got to front up and finish with more intent with everything we do.”
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