Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan has been backed by the club's owners to fast-track a rebuild of the region.

He added the scale of that defeat will now see "serious changes" at the club brought forward to this season.

That is likely to see an emphasis on youth as well as additional coaches and a quicker player recruitment process.

Flanagan said: "[Boxing Day] was totally unacceptable and there are going to be certain things on the back of that which we have to do to make sure we move in the right direction. That loss might fast-track things.

"I have spoken to the owners and I feel very supported. We've been pretty aligned from day one, they understand it's a tough task for me as it is for them. They are in this for the right reasons and really care for this club.

"There were certain things to achieve financially at the start of the year but we have a reputation and a brand to uphold and they are very supportive of the direction we need to take, but we need to move quicker.

"We can do more off the field, I can be supported a bit more and if we're looking at younger players needing to come through in certain positions for next season, well let's do it now."

Flanagan is set to immediately wield the axe to the side that conceded a record-equalling seven tries in the first half against Cardiff, the club's 18th defeat in a row to their local rivals, with major changes against Scarlets on New Year's Day.

Former Dragons lock Andrew Coombs described the first-half display as "inexcusable" while Wales great Jonathan Davies responded on X: "A lot of players not good enough to be pro."

The loss means Dragons will end the year rooted to the bottom of the United Rugby Championship (URC) with just one win in eight matches.

'Break the pattern'

"It was a one-off bad day but they seem to keep happening when you look back at Munster (64-3 in March 2022), Glasgow (73-33 in April 2023) and now Cardiff," said Flanagan.

"We can't keep doing the same thing and expecting different answers. I could pick the same 23 players and get a reaction next time but we can't keep going up and down like that. I have to break the pattern that has become Gwent rugby.

"I have to make some serious decisions this year going into next. They are big calls but we have to break the chain for the region to grow. We're all on board, we just need to move quicker."

That is likely to centre around player retention and recruitment with the region fighting to keep hold of the likes of Wales stars Aaron Wainwright and Rio Dyer while former head coach Paul Turner has been brought in as a part-time consultant for the rest of the season.

Flanagan added: "We are a long way down the road now with certain players and we'll know pretty soon. We want to get things done pretty quick which is good for us and for the players."