**Being labelled as the 'best of the rest' is a label that no club wants, and the Dragons are doing all in their power to escape that very position this season.** Sitting fifth in Conference A, the Welsh outfit have shown glimpses of their potential throughout the season but still sit a staggering 39 points adrift league leaders Leinster and 12 points off Glasgow Warriors in third. However, their buffer over struggling rivals Ospreys - which currently stands at nine points - and Zebre will give them hope as they look to reaffirm their position as the top-performing Welsh side in the Conference. With the season currently at a pause, let’s take a look at what went right, and what went wrong for the Dragons this campaign. # Story of the campaign so far Dragons set a precedent for how their season would turn out in the opening rounds as they followed up an unconvincing 39-9 defeat to 2018/19 semi-finalists Munster with a 52-28 away victory against Zebre. The same pattern followed as they replied to a defeat against Connacht in round three with a hard-fought 18-5 victory over Glasgow Warriors before they experienced consecutive defeats against Leinster and Edinburgh Rugby in rounds five and six. They then recorded their first consecutive victories in the European Challenge Cup after beating both Castres Olympique and Enisei-STM with ease before being brought back to earth after Zebre gained revenge with a 39-12 win on their return to the Guinness PRO14. A slim 22-20 victory in the welsh derby against Scarlets seemed to have instilled some confidence back into the side before Cardiff Blues ran out victorious on their boxing day derby with a 16-12 win. Entering a new decade did not bring any change of fortune for Dragons as their victory over Ospreys on January 4th was their only win up until round 13 where they overcome a strong Toyota Cheetahs side to run out with a 13-10 at Rodney Parade.
