The Dragons started their Challenge Cup campaign well with a 24-7 bonus point victory over Oyonnax at Rodney Parade.

Dai Flanagan’s team tried hard, but were not helped by a strong wind that made life difficult for both teams. It wasn’t ideal, but Flanagan will be pleased with the character of his team, with Welsh internationals Aaron Wainwright and Rio Dyer and the underrated Steph Hughes all impressing.

After a slow start, the visitors came back to life after a strong counterattack by Joe Ravuvu reached the Dragons’ 22. The Welsh club were forced to commit a foul and Suleiman Koulibaly scored the penalty in the right corner of the goal. a corner

But following intervention by the match’s television referee, the try was disallowed after Koulibaly’s foot touched the touchline. Oyonnax flanker Ravuvu looked dangerous throughout the game and almost scored, but Dyer showed blistering pace to beat the Fijian for the goal that saved the Dragons.

But Oyonnax finally saw his efforts rewarded when a pass from Jules Soulan set up Leo Traill for the first try. Soulan added the stoppage time to give the French club a 7-0 half-time lead.

The Dragons started the second half like a house on fire, with a great floating pass from Will Reid beating two defenders to allow Ashton Hewitt to score from the corner. Reid added the extra, but the strong wind wasted two penalties that would have put the Dragons ahead.

With just six minutes remaining in the match, the Dragons were denied a shot on goal when Wainwright converted a penalty. The Welsh defender was caught on the line but with his second kick Joe Davies turned to try.

And the Dragons put the result beyond doubt when Dyer chased down a Hughes clearance to secure the hosts’ third try. But the Dragons gave everything until the end to get the important extra try point.

Wainwright’s man-of-the-match pass released midfielder Dane Blacker, who ran onto the ball before the ball found Dyer, who broke free to give the Dragons a successful start to their Challenge Cup campaign.