Dragons: I've never questioned my coaching ability, says boss Dai Flanagan

Dai Flanagan was Scarlets backs coach before moving to Dragons for the 2022-23 season

Dragons boss Dai Flanagan says he has "never questioned" his coaching ability and expects to put his own "stamp" on the team in the off-season.

They have three wins and 14 defeats before their Judgement Day finale against Scarlets at Principality Stadium on Saturday, 22 April.

That record means Dragons will again finish below their Welsh rivals in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

"When I came in it wasn't my imprint on the group," said Flanagan.

His predecessor Dean Ryan was director of rugby during the summer of 2022, but the former England forward was absent for their first game and his departure was eventually confirmed in January.

Having been appointed as head coach under Ryan for that pre-season, Flanagan effectively took over as the season got under way.

"Obviously I was second in command and for the first few months, where you get your foundations and expectations and your standards, and to try to do that along the way has been interesting, and I feel we've had a good reaction and we just haven't been able to get results," said Flanagan.

"And it's drawing a line in the sand now of obviously it becomes more mine and along that way I put my stamp on it.

"We will train differently. We have to train differently because we don't win enough games."

After taking charge Flanagan adopted a "no excuses" policy over playing performances.

They cannot finish higher than 15th in the URC table with only Italian side Zebre below them, while no Welsh team will contest the play-offs.

The latter half of Dragons' season - and that of their Welsh rivals - has been played out against a backdrop of major financial issues in the nation's game, with each region set to have significantly-reduced squads in 2023-24.

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As he contemplated those events, Dragons' form and his own contribution, former Cardiff Blues, Ospreys and Pontypridd fly-half Flanagan said: "I'm a big reflector to be honest so I'll always reflect.

"One of my biggest hinderances as a player was I always had a lot of questions over whether I was good enough, and I always trained and played with a bit of like 'should I be here?'.

"I've never questioned myself coaching-wise.

"I have a different belief in my ability as a coach than I ever did as a player.

"Can I do this job? Yeah. Is this job tough? Yeah.

"You have to understand what you've signed up for and where fundamentally you are, and it's something I've enjoyed thoroughly since I've taken over.

"It's something I believe I can have a massive effect on and yeah, we're a couple of scores off winning games so we've got work to do."

Flanagan also accepts that no matter the off-field issues and financial restrictions it is "100%" the role of coaches at his level to improve the talent at their disposal.

"I've never made an excuse, because we're not in it to make excuses," he said.

"We're in it to win games, aren't we? And develop players and people and the better you can develop your players and people, the more games you win."