It was hoped that the positive performance at home to Munster could be followed up by a victory in Italy against a fired-up Treviso team, who had clearly targeted the fixture as a 'must win'.
The Dragons unfortunately went down 3 tries to 1, with the home side punishing some individual errors from the Men Of Gwent, and utilising their strength up front to power over from close range twice. The Trevisio tries came through Tommaso Benvenuti, Marco Lazzaroni and Marco Fuser, with the Dragons 1st half effort coming from lock Rynard Landman, after some neat inter-play, but who then unfortunately had to depart at half time with a calf issue.
The result came as a huge disappointment for the playing/coaching staff, and the supporters, who had hoped the long wait for a victory away from Rodney Parade in the Pro 12 was going to come to an end.
With a number of players rotated, a necessity in the modern game, the fixture had given a number of players the opportunity to stake their claim for a 1st XV position, and in some cases prove their fitness after injury lay-offs. Unfortunately the intensity and power displayed by Treviso undermined these efforts, with the home team running out deserved winners in the end.
It is now hoped that the Dragons can return from this lengthy away journey, review the lessons learnt from this game, and prepare for the upcoming Glasgow fixture at Rodney Parade. The Supporters can now play their part in getting the team back on track, by getting behind the team, and using the atmosphere we can create at Rodney Parade to disrupt the visitors this coming Friday...
Benetton Treviso
Hayward, Esposito, Benvenuti, Sgarbi, McLean, Allan, Bronzini (Tebaldi 49), Quaglio (De Marchi 54), Gega (Bigi 66), Ferrari (Traore 63), Fuser, Paulo (Steyn 66), Minto, Lazzaroni, Budd
Newport Gwent Dragons
Meyer (R Jones 71), Hewitt (Beard 60), Morgan, Warren, Amos, O’Brien, C Davies, Hobbs (Davies 49), Buckley (TR Thomas 49), Fairbrother (Mitchell 36), Hill, Landman (Screech 40), J Thomas (Keddie 69), Cudd, Jackson