DIRECTOR of rugby Lyn Jones was disappointed to taste defeat in Newport Gwent Dragons’ Guinness Pro12 opener but believes the performance at the Sportsground bodes well for the season.

The Dragons were left to lament an error-strewn first half display that left them with a 14-3 deficit to chase down.

They gave it a good crack and after tries by Sarel Pretorius and James Thomas looked the livelier side at 22-20 in the closing stages.

However, they conceded a breakaway try and were left to be grateful for Tom Prydie’s long-range penalty that earned a bonus point at the death.

“We were very nervous in the first 20 minutes playing into a stiff breeze and we conceded nine easy points. It wasn’t good play from Connacht really, it was bad play by us,” lamented Jones.

“As the game went on we grew and got better and better. We got to 22-20 with five minutes on the clock and were confident the momentum was with us but they ran the length and that was typical of what went on in the night.

“We are not disappointed, the performance was good and it bodes well for the rest of the year.

“We really looked positive in the second half and to see Tom Prydie put a 45-metre kick over for a bonus point was a just reward.

“Players are very disappointed that we didn’t come away with a victory but as a coach you’ve got to look further into the result and performance. It bodes well.

“When you come to Galway it’s a really difficult game and if you commit unforced errors, as we did in the first half to gift them 14 points, it’s too much to claw back.”

Several of the new boys performed well on debut – Ed Jackson the pick – while Jones was happy with the control of his half-backs.

“There were some good individual performances – I was very pleased with (scrum-halves) Sarel Pretorius and Charlie Davies when he came on while Jason Tovey in particular was very good and ran the game as we hoped, but we just couldn’t get that platform.”

The Dragons are on home soil next Friday when they welcome Zebre to Rodney Parade.