Buoyant Dragons aim to end more unwanted streaks

With a hammering of Connacht on Saturday, the Dragons put an end to their long quest for a United Rugby Championship (URC) victory, but boss Filo Tiatia is raising his bar even further.

The Irish province won the first league game win since the opening weekend of 2024-25 with a score of six tries, 48-28.

The first game of the season saw a disappointing draw between the Sharks and the Ospreys, which caused the URC to sigh and take notice by a team that finished last season adrift at the bottom of the table.

Tiatia was pleased that his team had won the first league game of his reign, but he was also unimpressed that their dominance wasn’t truly displayed on the scoreboard.

Three late Connacht tries earned Stuart Lancaster’s side an undeserved consolation try bonus point after being given the luxury of taking down starring players Angus O’Brien, Aneurin Owen, and Rob Hunt.

The boys performed much more freely, which was admirable to see,” Tiatia said.

The Dragons defeated Connacht for back-to-back victories for the first time since 2022, building on their European Challenge Cup victory over Lyon.

After going into any competition without winning in any competition in 2025, Tiatia and his coaching team have put some pressure on themselves with two victories in six days.

Despite recording their first Top 14 victory of the year against Clermont Auvergne at the weekend, Perpignan looked set to fall to the ground after an embarrassing 41-17 defeat.

The squad have won two games in record time thanks to discussions of what Dragons can bring to Welsh rugby in uncertain times.

With the defeat of Connacht, they are now better than Scarlets and Ospreys, which gives them hope for a fight to avoid being the URC’s bottom team with Zebre as well as a scrap to earn the title of Wales’ worst.

After a 15-game, 23-game winning streak, Tiatia will not let up after one victory.

The former All Blacks forward said, “We are trying to put wins together while also trying to create a game that the fans want to see.”

When fatigue sets in, we are fostering a sense of what they are attempting to accomplish together.

Since defeating Munster and Pau twice under Lyn Jones at the end of 2015, the Dragons have not won three straight games.

On December 26th, they travel to Cardiff, ending an embarrassing 20-game losing streak against fiercest rivals that began with their 2015 Challenge Cup quarter-final victory at Rodney Parade.

Ospreys playing legend Tiatia, whose side hosts Scarlets on New Year’s Day, said, “Derbies are a different beast.

Although they don’t quite resemble test matches, pressure exerts some humor.