Dragons lost out 36-18 to Ulster in the Guinness PRO14 at Kingspan Stadium but it was an encouraging display from Bernard Jackman’s men who battled back and pushed in the second half for a point.
Hibbard, who captained Dragons in Belfast, will now lead the team back to Ireland as they visit the west coast and face Connacht Rugby this Saturday (kick-off 5.15pm).
“There were lots of positives (at Ulster) and it is a step forward,” he said.
“In the last 15 minutes we were in touching distance of them about a thousand times and just couldn’t get over the line. They then breakaway and score.
“Those opportunities are the ones we have got to take and finish. The frustration is that we haven’t taken over chances.
“Our scrum and lineout went really well, we put pressure on them in the set piece.
“We gave them a big lead and got back into it. Just before half-time we got close but conceded again.
“There are lots of positives, but we need to be clinical and cut out the mistakes that are hurting us.
“The key is to take real belief from that game. I am super proud of the boys, we stuck together until the end and the fight we showed was great. We played for each other.
“We have to back this up and go to Connacht and perform. It is a step forward and we must take another next week until we get that win that we know is coming.”
Hibbard was also full of praise for the younger members of the Dragons squad who produced in the hostile surroundings of the Kingspan Stadium.
“Some of the young lads really stepped up,” added Hibbard. “I thought Will (Talbot-Davies) was just fantastic for us, he showed some real power out there and never stopped running.
“(Harri) Keddie has been out for a while so to come back from injury and do an 80-minute performance like that was impressive.
“Taine (Basham) came on and showed just what he has been doing for the Under-23s.
“It’s great individual performances, but it is about putting it together as a team.”
