Filo Tiatia salutes record-breaking Dragons on memorable night at Rodney Parade

The Dragons hauled themselves off the bottom of the URC table after breaking their 15-month losing streak in the league in style on Saturday, with a 48-28 win over Connacht.

On a memorable night at Rodney Parade, the Dragons raised their game to levels not seen for years. It was their first win since beating Ospreys on the opening weekend of the 2024/25 season, their first try-bonus point win in the URC since the Judgement Day success against Scarlets in April 2023, and the first time they had won back-to-back games in over four years, having beaten Lyon in the European Challenge Cup the previous week.

Hooker Oli Burrows, scrum-half Che Hope and wing Jared Rosser went over before a penalty try earned a 28-7 half-time lead.

A pair of Angus O’Brien penalties followed before Rio Dyer and Che Hope added further scores to send the crowd of 4,188 home happy.

“We’re happy – it was a really solid performance,” said head coach Filo Tiatia. “The boys played a lot freer tonight which is pleasing to see, just based on our review on the things that how we wanted to play. The boys executed well.

“The last 20 minutes is probably a talking point, just how we stay in moments even when the map changes, so there are still areas of growth. But overall, really happy for the group.

“We’re trying to build a game that fans want to see, getting wins, and it is all part of the process.

“We are building belief in what we’re trying to achieve together, particularly when fatigue comes in. That’s the mental side of the game and we’ve got a lot of young guys that don’t have tools.

“It’s really just staying in moments, which they did tonight.”

Dragons next face Cardiff Rugby on Boxing Day before welcoming Scarlets on New Year’s Day as they look to build on back-to-back wins.