It was a mixed weekend in Welsh rugby.
Two half-century defeats, rumours of a coaching departure and another lead squandered by the Ospreys. However, the Dragons did finally get their first home win in 18 months so it wasn't all bad.
With that in mind, here are the winners and losers...
Winners
Dai Flanagan
Flanagan has probably had less strenuous weeks in his coaching career. The rumours about Dean Ryan left him fielding pre-match questions concerned about employment rather than on-field matters.
A tough assignment that Flanagan flat-batted admirably. The questions needed to be asked, but Flanagan shouldn't have been the one answering them. That was the responsibility of the Dragons hierarchy.
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Regardless, he got his reward on Sunday afternoon as the Dragons picked up their first home win since April 2021. A hectic few days undoubtedly, but the performance had Flanagan's attacking fingerprints all over it.
It's hard not to feel happy for Flanagan.
Ken Owens
The Sherriff made his return after 11 months out with a back injury this weekend. Having last stepped onto the pitch against Leinster in the United Rugby Championship, the challenge of Swansea RFC at Carmarthen Park was what he faced on his comeback.
The first step to a return that could see him head to a fourth World Cup might just have began with Owens in a Carmarthen Quins jersey. After so long away from the game, it's good to see him back.
Rio Dyer
If ever there was a way to win a match, this was it.
With just under 10 minutes left at Rodney Parade, Rio Dyer fielded a pass from Angus O'Brien with what looked like a fairly settled Munster kick-chase in front of him.
However, Dyer had other ideas - spotting a half-gap between Peter O’Mahony and Malakai Fekitoa before rounding Mike Haley for a superb individual try.
The Dragons winger wasn't done there though. Minutes later, he received the ball in his own 22, skinned Simon Zebo with ease and set up a move that put the Dragons back into the Munster 22.
They wouldn't leave it for the rest of the match, sealing the victory.
Nicky Smith
Granted, the Ospreys ended up losing a game that they ultimately should have won, but for much of the match against the Lions on Saturday night, their pack had the Lions forwards moving backwards at the scrum.
Much of that was down to the work of Nicky Smith. The loose-head is a fine technical scrummager.
He's been overlooked by Wales for some time now, but the more damage he does to opposition scrums, the more baffling that oversight becomes.
Keep playing like this and it will give Pivac food for thought.
Dragons fans
The last time the Dragons won at home was only a mere 18 months ago, but the last time the Gwent side won at Rodney Parade with fans present was in February 2020.
So, to say it's been a long time coming for supporters is an understatement.
They lived every kick, every pass and every tackle on Sunday afternoon. After so long, they deserved this.
Losers
Ospreys
As Toby Booth prepared to answer his first post-match question following the Ospreys' defeat to the Lions, the piece of branding on the front of the desk he was standing behind crashed to the ground.
"Comedy is all about timing," a bewildered Booth quipped. It summed up the evening better than words could.
Having thrown away a lead against the Scarlets last week, they did the same against the Lions on Saturday night.
The frustrating thing for the Ospreys is that they could, and should, have two wins from two. Four points from their first two games isn't awful, but it should have been more.
Control is the buzzword for Booth and it's something they'll need to find as the season progresses.
Welsh defence coaches
With two of the four sides conceding half-centuries this weekend, there's bound to be some tough review sessions taking place this week.
For the Scarlets, it's hard to portion too much of the blame on Gareth Williams after their 39-55 defeat to Ulster at home. The former Wales breakdown coach is new in the job, but a record points haul for the Irish province in Llanelli will only serve to highlight the job on his hands.
As for Cardiff, the 52 points they conceded away to Glasgow was at least 17 less than their last outing - the 69-21 humiliation against Benetton at the end of last season. For defence coach Richard Hodges, that means that questions will surely be asked of him now.
Dean Ryan
Is Dean Ryan still at the Dragons or not? It's unclear.
But the fact that the Dragons ended a lengthy wait for a home win when Ryan wasn't present at Rodney Parade is unfortunate to say the least.
Chris Busby
Cardiff had a hammering at the hands of Glasgow on Friday night, but a miserable night was undoubtedly compounded by the decision not to permanently reduce the Scottish side to 14 men.
When home fly-half Tom Jordan connected with the head of Josh Adams with a tackle lacking any sort of wrap, a red card seemed the logical decision. Granted, another Glasgow player was already in the process of making a tackle, but Adams didn't dip as a result of it and Jordan still connected with the Wales wing in a dangerous manner.
The mental contortions for Busby to find mitigation in the situation only served to baffle fans, pundits and Dai Young.
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