The Welsh region followed up their 31-17 home win over Castres Olympique in Round 1 with a seven-try display in a 49-22 success over Enisei-STM in Krasnodar to end Round 2 as one of only two sides with a maximum 10 points.

“I’m absolutely delighted with the performance from such a young group,” Ryan told the Dragons’ website. “The young players needed to understand what it takes to prepare and compete in difficult games - I thought we passed that test with flying colours.

“We were up against a fired-up Enisei side on a windy and very cold night, but the likes of Ben Fry and Ellis Shipp were tremendous, and Taine Basham was just outstanding again.

“You come away to teams like this and people expect you to be ahead early on. You should win, but it is a test and you have got to dig in.

“In that first half we played into a strong wind and it was minus six on the back of an hour bus trip to get to the venue. Part of the challenge with these games is the long-distance travel; it is all set up to trip you up.

“I’m proud of the team, proud of the way we passed that examination. With all that in mind, I’m pleased with the experience we’ve had, the way we have dealt with the pressure and got maximum points.”

Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan hailed the maturity of his young players as they finished the first two rounds of the European Rugby Challenge Cup on top of Pool 1.