AFTER being given a harsh lesson in the fine margins between victory and defeat by the Stadio Monigo posts, Angus O'Brien hopes to help Newport Gwent Dragons be on the right side of their crunch Guinness Pro12 fixture at Treviso on Friday evening.

It was a nip-and-tuck encounter when the teams met in Treviso last February and the game was in the balance as the visitors laid siege to the line in horrendous conditions at the death.

O'Brien sat back in the pocket and struck a drop goal that rebounded off the left upright and then the right one before returning on the wrong side.

The Dragons regained possession but wing Hallam Amos was bundled into touch and the chance of victory was gone. Treviso took the spoils 19-17.

The Rodney Parade side haven't won outside of Newport in the Pro12 since the visit to the Stadio Monigo in March, 2015 but O'Brien hopes to turn the tables this weekend.

"I don't think that will ever happen to me again, I didn't know if the drop goal was going over or going wide, I didn't know what was happening," said the former Wales Under-20s fly-half.

"It was frustrating to lose by that narrow margin, especially when we had opportunities to score points at the end of the game, and we will be looking to put that right.

"Nowhere is easy to play in this league and we will be prepared for a tough game but we are confident of putting in a good performance to come away with the win."

"We need to sharpen up in the 22 and be a bit more clinical," he continued after the Dragons' narrow 20-16 loss to Munster.

"We are creating good opportunities but aren't quite executing to get the points that we want and need. We will have a little look at Treviso this week but we will be going there to impose our gameplan on them."

O'Brien will head over to Italy on the back of a strong showing when promoted to start against the Irish province at Rodney Parade last weekend.

The 22-year-old from Caerleon, who came off the bench in the 29-8 loss at Ulster and was an unused replacement in the 11-6 win against Zebre, stepped up when Nick Macleod suffered an ankle injury while kicking in the warm-up.

"It wasn't great circumstances half an hour before kick-off but I was prepared and knew the game plan," said O'Brien, a Wales 7s international. "I just had to step up and had been chomping at the bit to get a start."

And O'Brien hopes to reap the rewards of the training ground graft alongside Macleod, who headed to the Dragons this summer after eight seasons in the Aviva Premiership with Sale Sharks.

"Nick has a great amount of experience and that's good for a fly-half like me. He is always giving me pointers and is very open to having a conversation or if I need help," said O'Brien.

"We've got a good relationship and that's what you need because we are all here for the same thing, we want to win and if I am playing or he is playing, we are both backing each other."