THE Dragons tasted victory for the first time since January by beating Connacht 21-8 at Rodney Parade last night. Here are five things from the Guinness PRO14 encounter in Newport.

1: Starting with a bang

The Dragons scored their opening try in the second minute and their exploits with ball in hand were a joy to watch in the first half.

They were expansive, ambitious and accurate to be more than good value for their 21-3 lead at the break.

Sadly injuries meant that the Dragons couldn’t push for a rare bonus point and instead it was their efforts without the ball that were to be applauded in the second half.

But the intensity of their training in Ystrad Mynach showed in the first half when it was Connacht, famed for liking an offloading game with massive passages of play, that were looking to take the pace off.

2: Determined defence

The tables turned and there were times in the second half when the Dragons were creaking and had the Irish province scored a second try to close the gap further before 70 minutes then they probably would have gone on to win.

But the hosts dug deep with centre Jack Dixon especially impressive, doing a superb job marshalling the explosive Bundee Aki.

The Dragons hardly had the ball after the break – and enforced changes would have disrupted their shape any way – but showed spirit to defend their line.

And credit to Dorian Jones, who was in the unfamiliar position of outside centre. The fly-half didn’t put in momentum-shifting tackles but he showed guts and determination when felling fellas 20kg heavier.

3: Tenacious Dee

I’ve always been a fan of the hooker and have been keen to press his international claims, but it’s just good to see him putting in big performances in a Dragons jersey.

The Newbridge front rower had three ankle operations and another on his nose during a nightmare 2016/17.

He admits that the shocking season has seen him drop off the Wales radar but he will be well and truly back on it if he keeps playing like he has in September.

Dee was good against Leinster, very good against Edinburgh and excellent against Connacht.

A try and a wonderful offload for Amos’ score were the headline acts by the hooker but his work rate, desire and spiky attitude also stood out.

Dee is enjoying his rugby again – as he showed with some David Pleat dancing onto the pitch at the final whistle.

4: Dixon at the heart of things

Much of the above for Dee applies for Jack Dixon, who has been a shadow of the player who earned a place in the 2015 World Cup training squad.

The centre suffered a freak, and career-threatening, kidney injury on his return from that international camp and last season never quite got going.

Dixon got the nod for the opening game against Leinster and was solid enough before missing Edinburgh with a groin problem.

But he was back at 12 against Connacht and in the first half he sparked the opening try by spotting a mismatch, showed some nice distribution and carried hard.

After the break he was magnificent in defence against one of the PRO14’s most potent players, Bundee Aki.

It was almost a man-marking job with Dixon preventing the powerful centre getting a clean run at a back line featuring a scrum-half on the wing and a fly-half in midfield.

Dixon had a super game and fingers crossed he can stay fit and build on such a performance.

5: Time to freshen up?

The Dragons must seriously consider changing a winning team for Ulster on Friday.

The front row of Brok Harris, Elliot Dee and Leon Brown deserve a rest after three rounds while fly-half Gavin Henson has played 240 minutes.

It’s a balancing act as the Dragons don’t want to be seen to be throwing in the towel for a trip to Belfast.

The mantra this week will be about opportunity knocking for players who have waited patiently for a chance to impress such as Adam Warren, Adam Hughes, Carl Meyer, Rhys Buckley, Pat Howard, Phil Price, Lloyd Fairbrother, Angus O’Brien and Dorian Jones.

Whoever takes to the field must keep the momentum going for the Southern Kings in a fortnight.