HE’S known for making clean breaks but Aaron Wainwright wants to make things messy for the Dragons to earn back his Wales spot.
The 24-year-old will be a key figure at Rodney Parade this afternoon in the bid for a derby double over the Scarlets.
Wainwright has crammed an awful lot into five campaigns as a professional after his rapid rise from debut in 2017, but this season has been testing.
The back rower has enjoyed just two victories in Dragons colours while he went from being a Wales regular in the autumn to being out of the picture at the end of the Six Nations.
It’s worth remembering that Wainwright has still only played 110 senior fixtures – 73 Dragons, 36 capped games and a Barbarians clash – and has developed his game on big stages.
Wainwright is hunting a strong run-in for the Dragons to hit the objectives set by national boss Wayne Pivac in a post-Six Nations debrief.
“The main feedback for me was my defensive work, I think they were pretty happy with what I can do in attack,” said Wainwright.
“The main thing they came back with was to keep working on my defensive stuff, to keep being physical, trying to be a nuisance and cause a mess.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to work on back here at the Dragons and hopefully I can carry on proving that I am getting better in those areas towards the end of the season.”
It’s also worth noting that the back row forward has only recently become a back row forward specialising at number eight.
Club and country want to get him running in space and Wainwright made one dashing 40-metre break that should have led to a try against Gloucester then repeated the trick at Parc y Scarlets to set up a score for Taine Basham.
The current Dragons man looks to a Dragons legend for inspiration – Taulupe Faletau, the current Wales starter in 8.
“If I’m looking at a game that he’s playing in, I’ll be watching him and seeing what he’s doing, to see if I can pick up any tips, or little things he’s doing that make him stand out,” said Wainwright.
“It’s great to have him around when I’m in camp as well and talk to him and bounce things off of him and just learn.
“He’s obviously such an experienced player to have the chance to do that is just obviously going to benefit me in my game as well.”
Wainwright’s hopes of facing the Springboks this summer will be boosted by a flying finish to the URC with the Dragons, who host the Scarlets before encounters against Zebre, the Ospreys, Cardiff and the Lions.
Spirits are high after the upset in Llanelli but Dean Ryan’s men are still underdogs against rivals with play-off aspirations.
“We have got to do the same again and carry on from how we played last week,” said Wainwright.
“It’s going to be a bigger challenge with them coming to us off the back of a loss. It’s a case of concentrating on what we did well and the things we need to work.
“It would be nice to get a win in front of the home crowd. It’s a big game to try and do the double over the Scarlets.
“If we can keep ticking away now and pick up a couple more wins it will give the fans something to cheer about and finish the season on a high.”
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