WING Nick Scott says Newport Gwent Dragons’ bonus-point win over Sale Sharks last week was a reward for the players’ hard work but he knows they have to back it up in southern France tomorrow.

The Dragons kicked off their European Rugby Challenge Cup campaign with a stunning 30-12 demolition of their English rivals at Rodney Parade last Sunday.

But Scott says they will have to match or better that performance to beat Castres Olympique at Stade Pierre Antoine.

“It’s always a challenge; to become a top side you have to put performances in week in and week out,” said the 25-year-old, who signed from London Welsh in the summer.

“Thankfully the tries came against Sale they did. It went perfectly, which is good for us because everyone involved comes in and works hard during the week and to get our rewards at the weekend builds confidence for everyone.

“I’m still only 25 but I feel quite old around here,” he added.

“We’ve got a lot of young boys here who put a lot of hard work in so it was good to get our just desserts for once.”

Lyn Jones’ men won at Stade Francais last season en route to the semi-finals of this competition but Scott says they expect a tough battle this weekend.

“We know that playing a Top 14 side is never going to be easy,” he said.

“French sides typically go quite hard and have a lot of pride about them when they’re at home.

“We feel like we’ve got a good idea of what’s coming to us and it’s just about how we react to that and how we improve on last week’s performance.

“It’s one of the best leagues in the world I think with some outstanding players.

“There are some big names in the Castres side but we’ll go over there quietly confident after last week.”

He added: “I wasn’t around last year but I watched quite a few of the games on TV and the boys played really well.

“It’s a good competition to breed confidence and play some different teams from the Pro12.

“But it is a high standard of teams so any result in this competition backs up what you’re doing in the Pro12 and helps you build.”