SPEAKING to the press with his face bruised and cut from a sandy surface at Ulster, it's clear that Newport Gwent Dragons and Charlie Davies haven't had long to lick their wounds from a gutting defeat Belfast.

The Dragons were denied a famous win at Kingspan Stadium by Paddy Jackson's 78th minute penalty and they have swiftly turned their attention to another Guinness Pro12 title hopeful with Connacht heading to Rodney Parade tomorrow evening (kick-off 7.30pm).

Lyn Jones and his management team are already down to the bare bones of their squad so the schedule has been light ahead of the visit of the men from Galway.

But scrum-half Davies says the Belfast pain, which was both emotional and physical, can be channelled against another Irish province as they attempt to build on their spirited performance.

"Lyn said after the game that we've got time to rest on our laurels with it being such a short turnaround," said the summer recruit from Wasps, who played his first full 80 minutes for the region last Friday.

"We are hurting from the defeat to Ulster and will used that as motivation. We've had a quick review (of Ulster) and then had to focus completely on Connacht.

"It was a tough evening (physically), we were defending for a lot of the second half with a big work rate from 1 to 15. It's a good thing to get straight into another game to try and get another win at home."

The Dragons have certainly enjoyed their dates at Rodney Parade this season with a record of played 10, won eight while the two losses, to Ulster and Cardiff Blues, should have been successes.

Connacht will go to the top of the table if they avoid defeat in Newport but the hosts are buoyed by their home victory against Leinster and determined display against Ulster.

"It was unfortunate to lose in the way that we did but there were lots of positives and it's something we can really move forwards from," said Davies.

"Our away form in the league has been non-existent but we played with a lot of courage for each other and passion.

"We backed ourselves, as you saw with the first try by Adam Hughes, which was one of the best that I have been involved in, and that paid dividends. We are trying to build an attacking brand of rugby here and that's starting come through.

"Although we didn't get the result, it was a big step forward. Ulster at the top of the table but should have come away with the points."

Davies made his Dragons debut off the bench at the Sportsground in September when Connacht edged a tight game 29-23, stretching their winning streak against the men from Rodney Parade to six.

Nonetheless, Davies is confident that they can upset their visitors' title tilt: "They are a vastly-improved side, sitting third and playing good rugby. They are a tough team but there will be opportunities for us against them.

"It won't be an easy task – they did the double over us last season and won against us in September – but if we back up our performance and play like we did in Ulster, work for each other and play positively we can get the win."

The Dragons have learnt their remaining Pro12 dates with the home derby with the Ospreys taking place on a Friday and away trip to Cardiff Blues on a Sunday.

Remaining league fixtures:

Connacht (h) – Thursday, February 11 (7.30pm)

Treviso (a) – Friday, February 19 (6.10pm)

Glasgow (h) – Thursday, February 25 (7.05pm)

Munster (a) – Saturday, March 5 (7.35pm)

Edinburgh (h) – Sunday, March 27 (2.30pm)

Ospreys (h) – Friday, April 1 (7.05pm)

Cardiff Blues (a) – Sunday, April 17 (2.30pm)

Scarlets (Millennium) – Saturday, April 30 (5pm)

Zebre (a) – Saturday, May 7 (3pm)