THERE’S nothing quite like a derby to stir the passions and hopefully I’ll be toasting a double success against Welsh rivals this weekend.

Tonight Newport Gwent Dragons take on the Scarlets out west in the Guinness Pro12 and then tomorrow I’ll have my coaching hat on for Newport’s trip to Cardiff in the Principality Premiership.

They are two huge games and the sort of fixtures you look forward to all season, although sadly I miss out on the 23 for tonight’s game because of a calf strain which means Taulupe Faletau is chucked in at the deep end with a start rather than coming off the bench following his World Cup exploits.

I suppose all eyes will be on him at 6pm. Rugby and politics are something that should never mix, and when they do it's often to an individual's detriment, but I think the less I say on that matter the better...

The boys head to the Scarlets on the back of a 19-12 win against Treviso and it was another game in which we created a load of chances only to be our own worst enemy with mistakes in good positions.

One stat from the game was that we didn’t have a single exit lineout, which shows where most of the game was played, but frustratingly we aren’t converting pressure into points at the moment.

That comes from stringing phases together and it will be a different test against a Scarlets side who have started the season with five wins from five and have some players in great form, notably flanker James Davies and centre Regan King.

We’ve not got a good record there and have had some shocking luck – remember the penalty that went through after hitting the posts but wasn’t given and Gareth Maule chased up to score?

But we ended a few unwanted records last season – such as winning at Cardiff Blues, Leinster, Stade Francais and in Treviso – and it would be a massive boost to do the same tonight.

We can cause them some problems ourselves and hopefully our new midfield partnership of Adam Warren and Adam Hughes can build on a promising first game together.

It’s great having Hughesy back on loan after he headed over to Bristol and then Exeter, he hasn’t changed much in a year and a bit but maybe has a bit more of a professional edge.

I thought the two Adams bounced off each other really well and it was especially pleasing that Hughesy played so well without the ball in what is the hardest position to defend on the pitch.

He’s also a Croesyceiliog boy so it’s good to have another player for me and Tovey to share lifts with. I’d say Hughesy is the second tightest man in rugby behind Ashley Smith so will be pleased to be getting a bit of petrol money from us for his taxi duties in his nice big BMW.

It’s fantastic to be cutting my coaching teeth with Newport and things have gone really well so far this season.

I’m on a steep learning curve and, as defence coach, I’m picking up so much from working alongside head coach Craig Warlow and forwards coach Ty Morris.

We’ve made a good start to the season with five wins from eight, the latest against Llandovery at Rodney Parade.

It looked in pre-season that it might take time for things to come good but the players have shown great character and quality. We are fourth in the table, level on points with Cross Keys in third, with plenty of improvements to come and ambitions to stay challenging at the top.

Just like with the Dragons, we are looking to change some perceptions with the Black and Ambers.