THE Dragons have clocked off for six weeks before returning in June for their first preparations for next season but the campaign continues for Aneurin Owen after injury frustration.
The talented centre starts for Newport RFC in their Premiership clash with Llandovery at Rodney Parade on Saturday (kick-off 7pm).
The 22-year-old will feature for his hometown club after making just five appearances for the Dragons in 2022/23.
Owen suffered a fractured ankle against Munster in March 2022, then had a summer hamstring problem before a serious knee injury against the Stormers in Port Elizabeth last December.
The ball-playing centre, a former fly-half, made his return off the bench in the United Rugby Championship encounters with Ulster and Scarlets.
Owen, from Newport, played for Ebbw Vale in the Premiership when learning his trade but this is a first outing for the Black and Ambers and a first start since being injured in Limerick 15 months ago.
Ty Morris’ men are already secure in the play-offs and will finish fourth in the table.
The Saturday action will determine who they face in the semi-finals with a chance for revenge against Cardiff, who edged them out in a tight Premiership Cup final at Principality Stadium, most likely.
The Blue and Blacks currently top the table and will secure first place if they beat third-placed Merthyr at the Arms Park. Fail to do that and the door will be open for the Drovers, who are two points back.
It could even be the Ironmen at the Wern if they cause an upset in the capital then the Black and Ambers win at Rodney Parade (live on S4C Clic).
Newport play for the first time since being denied by Joe Goodchild's acrobatic late score in the final.
“We lost a game against Llanelli when they pulled out, but that has given us a bit more time to recover from the cup final defeat to Cardiff. It took a miracle try to win it for them, so we know we aren’t far off them,” said head coach Ty Morris.
“This weekend is still important to us because we want to gather as much momentum as we can to take into the play-offs. In many ways the game against Llandovery is about us making a statement.
“We believe we can beat any of the other three teams ahead of us and we are in pretty good shape as a squad.
“After our slow start to the season it is great to be in the mix at the business end.
"We know we are capable of beating the other teams left in the competition and it would be nice to reverse what happened last year when we won the cup and lost the league title on the final weekend."
Ioan Davies, who has been released by the Dragons but is a Black and Ambers favourite, starts at full-back. Jon Morris comes in on the wing while Che Hope gets the nod at scrum-half.
There are changes up front with loosehead Tom Workman, hooker Jack Gillard and tighthead Dan Suter joining forces in the front row.
Jonathan Verrier starts at lock while Josh Reid and Kyle Tayler join Ben Roach in the back row.
Newport: Ioan Davies; Jon Morris, Chay Foster-Smith, Aneurin Owen, Lloyd Lewis; Matt O'Brien, Che Hope; Tom Workman, Jack Gillard, Dan Suter, Jonathan Verrier, Craig Hudd, Josh Reid, Kyle Tayler, Ben Roach.
Replacements: Henry Palmer, Thomas Davies, Luke Yendle, Alex Ashton, Rhys Jenkins, Luke Crane, Matt Bancroft, Geraint O'Driscoll.
