DRAGONS scrum-half Rhodri Williams is set to make his 100th appearance for the region tomorrow and he insists there couldn’t be a better place to reach the landmark than Musgrave Park, writes Andrew Penman.

After dispiriting defeats to Edinburgh and Cardiff at Rodney Parade, a trip to Cork to take on reigning champions Munster seems unlikely to offer any respite for Williams and his team-mates.

Dragons haven’t won on Munster soil since 2004 and the Irish province have suffered only one defeat at Musgrave Park since 2016.

But Williams is confident that they can spring a surprise and help him celebrate his personal milestone in style.

“I’d be very proud to make my 100th appearance,” said Williams, who arrived in Newport from Bristol Bears in 2018.

“I was hoping to do it last year, but I picked up a concussion. I missed a couple of games and dropped just short.

“So, hopefully, if selected, it will be a special occasion. It’s the club I’ve played for the most, so I’m quite excited.

“It’s been an interesting time. Obviously, everyone knows that the club has gone through different coaches.

“I came here under Bernard [Jackman] and we had some success, but we couldn’t quite back it up with consistent performances.

“Obviously, under Dean [Ryan] we showed what we can do but we didn’t quite get the consistency – it was the same story.

“But it’s an exciting time now. It’s a very good place to be at the moment.

“Although we’ve had two losses recently, it’s a great group to be part of and I’m thoroughly enjoying my rugby. It’s just, we need to start getting some results at the end of it.”

And that starts this weekend, according to Williams.

“Obviously, we’re low after the last game,” he added. “But we know we’re not far off. We’ve got to start turning these close performances into results now.

“That’s been the most disappointing thing. But that’s a good thing – it shows where we are as a group.

“The good thing about rugby is that you get to go again this weekend.

“And I personally think that it’s the ideal opposition to go up against in Munster away. We can be confident that we’ll go away there and put our front foot forward.

“They’re a formidable team and it a tough place to go, but we want to test ourselves against the best in the league and it’s an exciting place to go.”

Williams’ form for Dragons earned him a recall to the Wales squad in 2021 and 2022 and, though he failed to add to the three caps won while he was at Scarlets, he is happy with his progress as a player since arriving at Rodney Parade.

“It’s been challenging, to be totally honest with you,” said the 30-year-old.

“I came in and was loving my rugby. Then there was a different challenge when Gonzo [Argentina international Gonzalo Bertranou] came in [in 2021] because a lot of the time I was on the bench. So, I had a lot of disappointment. But it’s about how you deal with that, and I think I’ve grown as a person.

“And I’ve learnt things off Gonzo and what he’s brought to the team.

“It’s been good, and I feel like I’m in a very good place now. I’m confident in my own game.”