Dragons won't pipe through fake fan noise for PRO14 derby

Dean Ryan's men finish their 2019/20 campaign with a derby at Rodney Parade (kick-off 5.15pm).

They returned to action after six months out with a draw against the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday, when the hosts played fake crowd noise over the speakers.

READ MORE: The lowdown on covering a game during a pandemic

The Dragons won't repeat that when they host a Scarlets side needing a bonus-point win to keep alive their semi-final hopes.

Centre Nick Tompkins said: “I hated the background noise, I actually really enjoy not having a crowd because I don’t have to shout quite so loud!

“I joke about it, but there’s nothing quite like the roar and the buzz of playing in front of a crowd. Even though I have to shout a bit louder, it’s definitely worth having people there."

Wales centre Tompkins made his debut last week after signing on a year-long loan from Saracens.

He said: “It will be a bit of a shame that my first game at Rodney Parade will be without a crowd because it looks like a great stadium and I’d imagine that it’s awesome when it’s full. I am praying fans will be able to come back as soon as possible.”

Director of rugby Dean Ryan said it was worth the Ospreys experimenting with crowd noise.

CHALLENGE: Dragons boss Dean Ryan (right) with rugby manager James Chapron

“It wasn’t great but you don’t find out unless you try things,” he said. “What does an empty stadium sound like? I can’t tell you at the moment because all I’ve done is one noisy one.

“We’ve got to be careful of criticising. The biggest difficulty was trying to talk on the mic because the guys on the other end had masks on and I couldn’t quite hear the muffled sounds!

“It all became quite difficult to communicate but we are in a space at the moment where people are moving into things they haven’t done before.

“Let’s give everyone a break, get these games on and look at what the best way forward is in the future.”