CAPTAIN Rhodri Williams has demanded that the Dragons back up their long-awaited away win when they return to Rodney Parade on Friday.

Dean Ryan's men ended a four-and-a-half year drought on the road in the Guinness PRO14 when they hammered Zebre 52-28 in Parma on Saturday.

After starting their campaign at Munster, the Dragons play their first home game of the season against Connacht on Friday (kick-off 7.35pm).

They head into the clash in high spirits after consigning their away hoodoo to history and scrum-half Williams wants to build up a head of steam in their first competitive Newport outing since the start of March.

"It is nice to get rid of the away record and get it done early on the season. It's not something to focus on anymore," said the Wales international, who has led the side in the opening rounds in the absence of Cory Hill.

"Now it's important we look to back this win up on home soil. It's a big game with Connacht and we're all looking forward to going back home in front of our fans."

South Wales Argus:

Williams praised the Dragons' composure in Parma after they recovered from a nightmare start that saw them trail 14-0, with the captain being culpable for the second of Zebre's scores when his pass was intercepted.

"We were all delighted to get the win. It was difficult game and we went 14-0 down early on, so credit to Zebre for the way they started," said Williams.

"We stuck to our game plan and ground them down. We kept the belief, even at 21-14 down at the break, and that was the message at half-time.

"We were clinical in the second half and it helps when Jordan (Williams) is scoring tries out of this world.

"I was particularly pleased with the team tries, when we stayed patient and wore them down."

The Dragons were helped by Zebre wing Charlie Walker's 41st minute dismissal for his second yellow card and the captain knows that there is still plenty of room for improvement ahead of the visit of Connacht.

"The red card was a turning point, but we still had to produce a performance and I was pleased with the way we handled it in the second half," said Williams.

"We were disappointed to let them in at the end and give them the bonus point. It wasn't perfect, there were plenty of mistakes, and we've got a short week now to look at those errors and learn from them."

Connacht head to Newport fresh from a 41-5 hammering of Benetton in Galway, a fine response to an opening weekend 18-10 loss at the Scarlets.

"We have a lot to be pleased about but also know we have room to improve," said head coach Andy Friend.

"We need to build on this now. Our set-piece was good, we have good competition for places so we just need to produce this sort of form every week and we will do ok."

The teams have traded home wins over the past two seasons.

Last year Connacht had a bonus point in the bag before half-time when winning 33-12 at the Sportsground and in 2017 the Dragons celebrated a 21-8 win in Newport.