BOSS Dean Ryan said throwing off the shackles led to the Dragons upsetting the odds against the Ospreys.

The Rodney Parade side recorded their best win of the season when they triumphed 31-20 in Bridgend on Saturday night.

Back row forward Aaron Wainwright crossed in the first half and then wings Ashton Hewitt and Jonah Holmes scored doubles to stun the Ospreys in the Guinness PRO14.

It ended a run of eight straight losses and was the Dragons' first away derby win since the success at Cardiff Arms Park on Boxing Day 2014. It was only their fourth away win in Wales and their first against the Ospreys since 2010.

Director of rugby Ryan said it came from playing with freedom after staying in the game with tenacity during a first-half battering by their hosts.

06.03.21 Ospreys v Dragons, Guinness PRO14 - Jonah Holmes of Dragons races in to score try

Jonah Holmes of Dragons races in to score try

"Against Connacht and Zebre, with that level of expectation [of winning], we looked really tight," he said. "We haven't looked like we are expressing ourselves and we become so nervous of an outcome.

"We talked a lot in the week about trying to be a bit freer in what we are doing, less worried about the consequences and more enjoying the processes we are going through. That shone through.

"Full credit to the lads to get the result that the performance warranted, because that doesn't always happen.

"I was delighted that our pack put them on the back foot with the drive, our strike plays were much better, we were good in the kicking contest and we looked sharp all-round."

Ryan has said throughout his tenure that he can't afford to judge purely on wins and losses but this was a timely result and performance in a testing season.

There was encouragement last week with the announcements of new deals for the Wales trio of Wainwright, Elliot Dee and Leon Brown and then supporters got a much-needed victory to toast.

CELEBRATION: The Dragons celebrate Ashton Hewitts try that clinched victory against the Ospreys

CELEBRATION: The Dragons celebrate Ashton Hewitt's try that clinched victory against the Ospreys

"I see people putting a lot of work in that doesn't get rewarded and that can sometimes be hard to keep them motivated," said Ryan.

"We have a lot of fun being at the Dragons but there's nothing more fun than winning and hearing a changing room singing.

"It was a good performance, we looked sharper and more physical with some dominance in key areas that we exploited. Those are the things we need to be doing week in, week out."

The cause was helped by the presence of Wainwright, who did his chances of action in the Six Nations clash against Italy no harm with an all-action performance.

Fit-again Ross Moriarty was also at his combative best to show Wayne Pivac, who was in the Brewery Field stands with conditioning coach Bobby Stridgeon, that he is ready if Wales need any late additions for the Grand Slam bid.

"Wayne released 'Waino' to get 80 minutes and came here to see him and Ross. 'Waino' looked sharp all the way through and Ross looked brutal," said Ryan.

"I've got mixed emotions, I might not see them for a couple of weeks! But I want them to play for Wales and we will see what Wayne wants from them."

Free Press Series:

Ryan would love to have Wainwright again on Saturday for a daunting home encounter with Ulster, who will be keen to finish the season strongly despite a loss to Leinster than condemns them to second place in conference A.

The Dragons climbed off bottom place with their upset against the Ospreys and are a point behind Glasgow.

With a trio of home games to come against Ulster, the Warriors and Edinburgh, Ryan's men even have a slim chance of putting late pressure on the third-placed Ospreys in the race for Champions Cup rugby.

"Every time you write about that we all feel a little bit tighter! I am not really that bothered about that, this was just a game where we wanted to show some heart," said Ryan.

"That was the most important thing rather than getting caught up in what the four points might mean.

"We are a stage where we should be expressing ourselves. Let's do the maths on Mondays rather than on Saturday nights."