KINGSLEY Jones says Newport Gwent Dragons need to cope better under pressure after their losing start to the Guinness Pro12, writes Chris Kirwan.

The Dragons suffered a 29-23 defeat to Connacht in Galway last Friday, fighting back from a 14-3 half-time deficit to be push for the victory in the closing stages only for a breakaway try to leave them grateful for Tom Prydie's penalty with the last kick.

That earned a losing bonus point but the expectation will be that they enjoy the four-try variety when Zebre, thrashed 61-13 by Cardiff Blues in the capital on Sunday, visit Rodney Parade on Friday.

The Italians should be brushed aside but if the Dragons are to improve on last season's ninth-place finish then they will need to cut out the errors against the stronger teams, according to Jones.

He said: "There were positives from the opening game but we turned the ball over far too much in the first half, which happens to lots of teams at Connacht.

"They are a side that put you under pressure and force you into errors but we've got to learn to deal with that, and quickly.

"There were lots of good individual performances – Sarel Pretorius, Ed Jackson, Nic Cudd, the locks (Cory Hill and Rynard Landman) and Jason Tovey – but others will be disappointed with their error count.

"The accuracy of our game wasn't good enough yet despite that I felt we were going to win it with five minutes left.

"Now we've got the chance to play at Rodney Parade and there are a hell of a lot of good things to take into that Zebre game."

Zebre, who have 12 players in Italy's World Cup squad, are staying in Wales this week after their Arms Park hammering.

All the teams that the Dragons are likely to battle for Champions Cup qualification - Connacht, Edinburgh, the Scarlets and Cardiff Blues - all won on opening weekend.