Dragons coach Dai Flanagan says some of the tackles put in by his own players in the derby match against the Ospreys "overstepped the mark".
The Rodney Parade outfit went down 37-18 to Toby Booth's side in Swansea, a game in which they were reduced to 14 after the sending off of Sio Tomkinson early in the second half for clattering fly-half Jack Walsh.
South African referee Jaco Peyper had no hesitation in producing the red card, and Walsh came in for some pretty heavy treatment across the course of the afternoon, with Ross Moriarty also sent to the bin for a late hit on the No.10.
Flanagan said they went too far, stating it was uncharacteristic of his team.
“We let ourselves down," said Flanagan. "We tried to drive emotion in the week for a derby game and we definitely overstepped the line. We didn’t get it right and some of the hits that we put in late was not us.
“Most 10s run the game so if you can put them a stride off then it helps you. We did try to target certain individuals in their team but overstepped the mark.”
On the dismissal, Flanagan added: “There are no arguments, he came a long way to hit him. Sio is an aggressive player and thought he had made a read but he mistimed it completely.
“You know when you come in a long way that you need to drop your height. He didn’t do that.”
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