The Dragons were below par in losing to Bath at Rodney Parade last weekend, with the English visitors racing into a 27-3 lead just past the half hour.
That disappointing 30-13 defeat brought the Dragons’ slim hopes of a place in the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals to a premature end but Smith says Saturday’s trip to Italy offers an immediate opportunity to right some of the wrongs from arguably their worst display of the season.
“The first half just wasn’t like us,” Smith told the South Wales Argus. “We let them get over the gain line from first phase and were then on the back foot, defending quick ball.
“We don’t really want to just forget about the first half because there are things that we need to work on, but, in the same sentence, we want to move on.
“Bath were clinical and took their chances but it wasn’t good enough from us. We haven’t turned into a poor team overnight but have to fix those things that cost us.
“After playing there in the snow last year, we know that Mogliano are a tough, physical team. All teams target their home games and Mogliano will be no different. It will be tough up front and we will need to match that.”
Mogliano are yet to pick up a point in their two seasons of European rugby and were hammered 50-8 at Rodney Parade in October but Dragons director of rugby Lyn Jones is demanding that his side show some of the spirit they displayed in December’s win over the Blues, regardless of how comfortable things get at the Stadio Comunale Maurizio Quaggia.
“You can’t just dismiss a performance like that; you have to look into them and be prepared to see things that are quite ugly. We won’t dwell on this for too long but the determination that we showed against Cardiff Blues (at Rodney Parade) was sorely missing. Hopefully we can pick it up again at Mogliano,” said Jones.
“Mogliano are a decent side that play a bit of football, which is nice to see. Our boys are playing for positions and I promised after the debacle in Cardiff that I would see everyone play over this month so that I know our best team going into (the return of the PRO12) in February.”
