“There was definitely some decisions we made around our discipline which cost us”- 5 Talking Points: Matt O’Brien’s reaction to Boxing Day defeat to Cardiff Rugby

Dragons RFC looked like they were on for delivering the Dragons faithful a late Christmas present and a much-needed win as they led 15-5 at halftime in front of a healthy crowd of over 8,500 at Rodney Parade.

This came from early tries from Aaron Wainwright and Rio Dyer and one late try from Rhodri Williams accompanied by the boot of Angus O’Brien but this proved not to be enough. As a Teddy Williams try before the break and three second-half tries from Josh Adams, Gabe Hamer-Webb, and replacement Evan Lloyd saw the Blue and Blacks pick up their 19th consecutive win over the Dragons.

However, the question is was this an opportunity missed against United Rugby Championship play-off hopefuls in Cardiff?

1: It was all near yet so far for the bottom of the league side in the URC 

Backs coach Matt O’Brien said: “Difficult one to take, really. I thought we did a lot of good stuff in the game, but as you said, it’s all near yet so far.

“I think we probably lost some moments in terms of our discipline in the middle 30 minutes of the game, which ultimately probably cost us one or two tries, and then Cardiff were back in it then at 15-12. 

“So, yeah, I think we probably look back on that and there was definitely some decisions we made around our discipline which cost us.”

2: One of the standout head-to-heads on Thursday evening was between Wainwright and Faletau

“Yeah, it was great,” added O’Brien 

“There was some great matchups across the park really as there always is when we play Cardiff and I thought both players were pretty good tonight.

“Both got really strong carrying games and you know you saw with Aaron’s try at the start, it was, you know, an outstanding carry from him and yeah, I thought they were both pretty good tonight.”

 3: Absent Tiatia means O’Brien was in the hot seat for the first time

Interim head coach Filo Tiatia returned to New Zealand for family reasons as O’Brien led the way. This was agreed upon when he signed for the Men of Gwent, as Tiatia would return to New Zealand for his father’s 80th birthday. 

On being in charge for one game as Tiatia will be back for the New Year’s Day clash in Llanelli, O’Brien said: “Not much really changed for me, apart from having to come and do this interview now and speak to the press before the game. 

“But, yeah, no, the prep in the week and stuff was as normal, so not too much change, as I said.

 4: Rio Dyer really growing into this URC season after a standout performance

There were definitely some standout performers for the Dragons, including Ryan Woodman, who was of great value in the lineup, and Aaron Wainwright, who was a great asset in attack. However, Dyer looked like he was striving, and for the Dragons to involve him more is massive.

“Yeah definitely, we tried to get our wingers on the ball as much as we can, really, with Jared and Rio and trying to get them up towards, you know, 12, 15 touches a game,” O’Brien added. 

“So, there’s some things that are designed around getting them on the ball early and phase play, but, you know, they’ve got to be hungry and getting off their wing and looking for work as well.

“And I think they’re both starting to see a little bit more of the ball. Hopefully as our attack game grows over the next couple of months, we’ll see a lot more of that.

5: Up next is a trip down West for another Welsh Derby to begin 2025 

The Dragons will begin 2025 with a trip to the Parc y Scarlets as they face Dwayne Peel’s Scarlets side, who narrowly missed out on an away win to the Ospreys before Christmas (23-22).

On what he expects from the eighth-place side in the URC, O’Brien added: “We’ll see how the boys bodies pitch up on Saturday morning at training and then probably go from there, to be honest with you. 

“There’s some battle with bodies in there, but I think there’s a lot that we did that was good tonight and the boys will be really keen to get back on the field come New Year’s Day.

“But I think within the professional game recovery is massive and you know, if you’ve got a few more days to recover then it can only be a good thing. But you know on the flip side of that the boys will be chomping at the bit to get back out there, and you know, a New Year’s Day derby. 

“I think that’s enough to get rid of anyone’s aches and pains if they want to pop back. 

“Against the Scarlets we’re probably going to have to get most things right if we’re going to beat them and that’ll be the plan going into the game. I touched a little bit on discipline in the middle of the game which probably let us down a little bit today. So that’ll be a focus for us going into next week,” O’Brien concluded.