Scarlets Director of Rugby Nigel Davies spoke to the media after Saturday’s defeat at Rodney Parade and reflected on pivotal moments that proved crucial in a 10-try Welsh derby.
Asked about the key elements in the 38-26 loss, Davies said: “I thought our fight was excellent, we are seeing lots of good bits, but there are key moments we are getting wrong, moments that are swinging the game.
“Both sides had those moments, in fairness to Dragons they probably had more than us. We suffered again around the five-metre maul, first of all giving them entry and secondly not being able to deal with it. We need to make sure we get better territory, that we don’t give sides easy ins and when they do get in, we are able to defend it.
“There were probably three or four other big moments in that game which turned things.
“From the kick off in the second half, we didn’t take the ball and they ended up scoring; we lost the ball sloppily when we were attacking and that led to Josh’s yellow.
“We gave ourselves opportunities and when we created the environment that we wanted to play in we looked dangerous. We have quality players, you could see that with what Macs (Page) did out there.
“The more we get players like him on the ball, the more dangerous we will be as a team.”
Davies added: “I couldn’t fault the fight. We were in the battle throughout and have been in the battle for both games. It is frustrating, we are a side that is progressing, but, as I said, there are moments in the game that are hurting us at the moment.”
Scarlets welcome Benetton to Parc y Scarlets on Saturday (17:30 ko) as they strive for their first victory of the URC campaign.
“It is a huge game and we are not a million miles away. The players out there are giving everything and we have some quality coming back into the selection debate over the next couple of weeks, players like Fletch and Taine who would bring a level of ability to any team. It will be nice to get them back and have them as options.”
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