As the race for the Magners League play-off places intensifies, the reigning Champions looked comfortable in the leading group but defeat on the weekend narrows the gap between themselves and Cardiff Blues who are chasing their South Wales rivals for the fourth play-off spot.
“I’m very disappointed with the way we played tonight,” said Johnson.
“We didn’t play great, but let’s take nothing away from the Dragons. We hear a lot about the Dragons playing with heart and spirit, their tenacity, but their performance today was about more than that, they played some good rugby with great skills, and they took advantage of some of our mistakes.
“That’s what’s disappointing about us tonight, we were in the game at half-time, it was tight, but our errors allowed them to race away with it in the third quarter and it left us with too much to do in the end.
“I think people’s pride was dented and all of a sudden the tempo and the urgency lift’s our game.
“To be fair, we never looked like we should have really. There was plenty of endeavour and the intent was there, I think it could have gone either way, but people have to look at themselves in the mirror and be honest with themselves. That’s what we intend doing, including me.
“A home semi-final will be tough now. We’ve got two big games coming up, and the Dragons can do us a favour, they can be our friends now. I hope they take those games like they did tonight, there’s much to like about them, but at the same time, we’ve got to get our own points. If we get nine points we’ll probably get through, but we’ve got to make sure we do our part.”
