NEWPORT Gwent Dragons may have a crowded treatment room in their Ystrad Mynach training base but prop Phil Price knows they still have to cash in during a period when others are without their internationals.

The Dragons management team have a selection headache because of an injury list that features centres Jack Dixon, Tyler Morgan and Pat Leach, wings Tom Prydie and Matthew Pewtner, fly-half Dorian Jones, scrum-half Luc Jones, lock Andrew Coombs and back rows Ollie Griffiths, Ed Jackson and James Thomas, while a number of other players are dealing with bumps and bruises.

But Leinster boss Leo Cullen made a good effort to beat their sob story ahead of Friday's Guinness Pro12 meeting at Rodney Parade – while the Dragons are only denied the services of Hallam Amos and Taulupe Faletau by the Six Nations, the Irish province's training ground has been like the Mary Celeste.

Head coach Cullen estimates that they will be without 30 to 35 players this weekend when adding injuries and Under-20s call-ups to those preparing for Wales with Joe Schmidt.

"It's not an ideal situation, but that's where we find ourselves. It creates a huge opportunity for the players that are fit," said the former lock.

"We're going to have to place a lot of faith in the squad now. We've managed all those bodies accordingly.

"We'll still have a strong team that runs out this weekend. There's plenty to play for."

Leinster are rarely weak but Price knows that this time of year traditionally provides an opening for the Dragons; this weekend's encounter is followed by league fixtures with Ulster (a), Connacht (h), Treviso (a), Glasgow (h) and Munster (a).

The Rodney Parade side currently sit 11th with just Treviso beneath them but the loosehead want to close the gap over the coming weeks.

"We've got to take advantage of the fact that the other sides don't have their international players and we have just got to make sure we start climbing the league," said the 27-year-old from Bridgend.

"We have to be positive and achieve the best finish we can. We've got a good run of games in the league now and should be bouncing into the quarter-final with Gloucester."

The Dragons go into the Leinster game on the back of the demoralising 38-5 loss to Sale in the Challenge Cup that means they will go on their travels in the last eight rather than enjoy home advantage.

But Price is hopeful that Rodney Parade – where they have won six of eight games this season and conceded just three tries in the Pro12 – can give them the edge tomorrow.

"We want to turn Rodney Parade back into the fortress that it once was and there's no reason why we can't have another clean sheet or just concede the odd try," he said.

"The work rate and attitude is always there from us but at Rodney Parade we feed off the crowd and the atmosphere while other teams don't always play to the best of their ability. But we also know we have to take that form away from home."