Dragons' head coach Paul Turner admitted his side came off a clear second best after they crashed to a 49-13 defeat in Biarritz.
Dragons chief reflects on poor performance in France
Dragons' head coach Paul Turner admitted his side came off a clear second best after they crashed to a 49-13 defeat in Biarritz.
The French side moved nine points clear in Heineken Cup Pool Two after a six-try romp that condemned the Welsh to a sixth successive defeat on French soil.
Biarritz battered the Dragons into submission up front, and they claimed a bonus point try just after half-time when former England back Iain Balshaw touched down for the first of his double.
Wing Takudzwa Ngwenya, scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili and substitute Valentin Courrent also crossed, while there was a penalty try and seven successful kicks from Yachvili, who finished with 22 points, before Courrent slotted the final conversion.
"It was very disappointing," he said. "We were up against a high-quality side, but we made a lot of errors and they punished us. We were second best, there is no doubt about that.
"We talked beforehand about not giving Biarritz any momentum, but that is exactly what we did. You can't concede nine penalties in the first 20 minutes, like we did."
To make matters worse for the Welsh they saw full-back Jason Tovey suffer an ankle injury and their Wales international flanker Dan Lydiate collect a hamstring injury that forced him off after just six minutes.
"Every time Biarritz got into our 22 they seemed to score," added Turner. "We've just got to lick our wounds - a lot of our players will have grown up today."
