Gary Teichmann would have purred his approval if he'd been at Rodney Parade for Dragons' victory over Connacht in the Guinness PRO14.

The electric atmosphere was reminiscent of those nights when the No.8, who skippered the Springbok, led big-spending Newport RFC into memorable European battles against the likes of Bath, Leinster, Toulouse and Munster.

Rodney Parade was packed to the rafters in those days and although there was only a crowd of 5,069 on Friday night it was hairs on the back of the neck time when it rose as one to blast out “stand up for the men of Gwent" in celebration at the end of a riveting encounter.

There really is no other ground quite like it in Welsh regional rugby when the atmosphere is like this.

The triumph brought a Welsh record losing streak of 11 in the league to a shuddering halt but it was the guts the Dragons showed during the second half that struck a chord with their supporters.

Tyler Morgan clutches his ribs
Jared Rosser leaves the pitch injured

They had lost full-back Zane Kirchner (suspected dislocated right shoulder), centre Tyler Morgan (ribs) and substitute Jarred Ross (groin) to injury before half-time.

The Dragons had to field a makeshift back division in the second half with scrum-half Sarel Pretorius doing emergency duty on the wing and outside-half Dorian Jones at centre against the 2016 PRO12 champions.

But they only conceded five points to a try from Connacht lock Quinn Roux to secure a confidence-boosting 21-8 triumph.

Dragons' wing Ashton Hewitt (left) shakes hands with Connacht star Bundee Aki

And Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Martyn Phillips should have a smile on his face because this victory was Dragons' first since the governing body took control of the region and hugely symbolic.

Some will say it was only Connacht but the real significance was it highlighted the potential of the Dragons as an entity if they can turn Rodney Parade into a fortress and climb the table in coming weeks, months and years.

As assistant coach Shaun Connor, who lives in Brynmawr and started his playing career with Abertillery, said afterwards, there's enormous goodwill towards the Dragons throughout Gwent since the union bought out the previous regime.

Tapping into it is the key but there isn't be a better way of enticing more people to watch matches at the Dragons' Newport lair than by winning consistently.

The players got an incredible buzz off the crowd against Connacht and will be wanting more. If that's not an incentive to perform, I don't know what is!