NEWPORT Gwent Dragons ran out 27-19 winners against Edinburgh at Rodney Parade in the Guinness Pro12. Here are five things we learned...

1: Growing Griffiths

It was clear when Ollie Griffiths was playing for Newport in the Principality Premiership, becoming the youngest captain in the club’s rich history, that he was a special talent. His exploits for Wales Under-20s added to the excitement about his potential.

Last season he broke through into the first team only for his season to be ended by a hamstring injury suffered training with Wales sevens in January and in the early parts of the current campaign he was hindered by a shoulder injury.

However, he’s now fully fit and flourishing, providing dynamism in attack and being a menace in defence.

Nic Cudd is the Dragons’ best defender but Griffiths is the better all-round seven and the back row balance of him with Lewis Evans and Ed Jackson was superb against Edinburgh.

With James Thomas and Harri Keddie also in the mix, Kingsley Jones has a splitting selection headache for jerseys 6, 7 and 8.

2: O’Brien shining at 10

One man who is a shoo-in at the moment is Angus O’Brien because of the absence through injury of Nick Macleod and Dorian Jones.

However, if the pair were fit then they’d struggle to wrestle the jersey from the 22-year-old from Caerloen, who is prospering thanks to a run of games this term.

O’Brien has made nine appearances and is stringing together solid performances and learning rapidly. The Dragons needed him to stand tall and he has delivered.

3: Rodney Parade fun factor

Supporters want their side to win but they also want to be entertained, something that didn’t happen an awful lot in the league in Newport last season.

In pre-season the Dragons talked about how they wanted to expand their game and take more risks and they have been true to their word.

They’ve played some terrific stuff in recent weeks with five tries against both Brive and the Scarlets, two against Connacht and three against Edinburgh.

They are having a crack, playing with energy and putting smiles on faces, not just because of the victories.

4: Smooth Beard

The Dragons boast a quality Test 13 in Tyler Morgan but at the moment Sam Beard is thriving at outside centre.

He was strong again versus the side he left in the summer, making some lovely breaks and producing yet another assist with his boot for Angus O’Brien (his third grubber set-up of the campaign after putting Hallam Amos over against Brive and Ashton Hewitt versus Connacht).

Beard is a classy operator and the management are spoilt for choice in midfield with him as an option along with Morgan, Jack Dixon and Adam Warren.

5: Time for tinkering?

The Dragons head to Dublin seeking a first away win in the league for a year and a half but they also face a hectic schedule with crunch games against Worcester, Cardiff Blues and the Ospreys.

Jones needs to keep his squad fresh and motivated so could make a few changes. Cory Hill could come back into the mix after his Wales exploits while the likes of James Thomas, Elliot Dee, Phil Price, Nic Cudd and Adam Warren will all be champing at the bit.

The Dragons can freshen without necessarily weakening.