AFTER being outmuscled by beefy Brive, Newport Gwent Dragons forwards coach Ceri Jones has called on his pack to respond against a Newcastle side he knows will possess plenty of grunt up front.

The former prop played under Falcons supremo Dean Richards at Harlequins until the ‘Bloodgate’ scandal led to the departure of the former Leicester, Lions and and England number eight.

That time working under ‘Deano’, who is assisted by fellow Tigers great John Wells in the North East, means that Jones is all too aware that his charges will be under the microsope this afternoon (kick-off 3pm).

“Newcastle are a typical Aviva Premiership side and will come heavy with their driving game,” said Jones. “We need to deal with that, especially after Brive when we were disappointing in that area.

“We have had a pretty good record in defensive lineouts this year – we have the third best lineout defence in the PRO12 – and that didn’t show last week. When it came to the drive we didn’t defend it properly and it will be a huge test for us.”

“Dean is an old friend and somebody I worked under at Quins, who turned that group around and made them what they are today.

“We went through a lot together with ‘Bloodgate’ but I’ve got a lot of respect for Dean and any side coached by him is always going to be physical and will always be up to the challenge.

“Every team he coaches is physically good up front and are never going to give you a soft challenge.

“Newcastle also try and put width on the ball while their pick-and-go and latch game is really strong in the 22.

“But we need to look at ourselves and get a bit more tempo in our game and play a bit more rugby.”

That ambition is shown by shifting Ollie Griffiths to blindside to accommodate openside Nic Cudd in a 23-man squad featuring plenty of experience.

“If we win then we are very much in this competition and we are taking it very seriously,” said Jones.

“We have also got a situation where we have got a ‘mini league’ in the Guinness PRO12 and opportunities in a tough February, so there is plenty to play for.”