IT’S a pleasure to be writing a column the week after our first win since January 13.

That spell is deceiving, as obviously there’s a big gap for the off-season over the summer, but it seems such a long time ago and the date of that last victory is one that sticks with me as the game with Enisei-STM was my first one after six months on the sidelines with concussion.

The fact that we were into our third game of the season meant that the idea of it being ‘must win’ against Connacht wasn’t shouted about but it was definitely in the back of everyone’s mind because that is the crazy world of professional sport that we now live in.

You only have to look at the repercussions for all involved at the highest level of football to see what a bad start to a season does to a club.

Let’s hope rugby doesn’t end up on the same path, but I fear it’s inevitable as the money involved grows annually at a huge rate.

The first half display on Friday night wasn’t just effective but also very exciting to watch.

Praise must be given to the eight guys at the coalface for supplying a platform to allow the backs space and time on the ball to show what they are capable of.

It’s just a shame that we picked up so many injuries in the backline during the first half, that caused a huge reshuffle of players and positions that meant the team had to go into defensive mode for the remainder of the game.

How many points did we score second half? Who cares! The main thing is we won.

Sport is a world of habits, both good and bad, and I will never say that as a squad we accepted losing, far from it.

But losing became a habit that at times we couldn’t see a way out of. Sometimes it does take a major change that’s out of your control to change your outlook, and that’s what’s happened with the Dragons this season.

We want to make winning a habit, especially at Rodney Parade.

What the players, staff and supporters need to do is remember that feeling when the referee blew his final whistle Friday night, bottle it up and bring it to every game we play.

On Friday night I was up in the Bisley Stand mingling with sponsors and supporters. The evening got off to an eventful start when Jason Forster put a microphone in my hand and asked me my views on Bernard’s comments about the bench the previous week. Cheers Fozzy!

But it was great to see our new chairman David Buttress up there with his family enjoying the game and pre-match festivities.

David is a local guy who seems to be very excited and passionate about the journey ahead, with plenty of ambition.

And there’s me thinking that the most affluent guy in Croesyceiliog was Pete, the guy who owns the barbershop at the end of the street I grew up on.

Tonight we take on the very much in-form Ulster on their home patch in what will be no doubt our toughest test of the season so far.

It was no secret that we would be making numerous changes.

Some people believe in the ‘keep a winning team’ mantra and don’t agree with making too many changes.

Others believe to keep a winning team on top of its game, the competition needs to be given a chance to impress and keep the preferred XV on its toes.

Neither theory has been proven correct; it’s purely a case of beliefs and what works for a particular squad at the time.

This week a lot of players will be given a chance to put their hands up for selection against the Southern Kings the following week, and I hope that as a team we do ourselves justice and make Bernard’s team selection a difficult one on Monday morning.

Ravenhill is a fantastic place to play rugby and with a big, passionate crowd behind Ulster there will be no shortage of motivation for us to perform.