Cai Evans: Dragons must show attacking intent against Sharks

Dai Flanagan’s squad are making their way to Durban for the first part of a double-header with the Sharks on Saturday (kick-off 5.05pm) followed by the Lions in Johannesburg.

The Dragons have gone on their travels buoyed by a first win of the season after overcoming the Ospreys 20-5 in Newport.

They were helped by Mat Protheroe’s red card in the 28th minute and then clinched the win when the visitors were down to 13 men after Luke Morgan saw yellow.

Man of the match Evans believes the Dragons reaped the rewards of being more daring with ball in hand, but knows they cannot afford to be as wasteful after butchering a number of chances.

Dragons full-back Cai Evans (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

“If we are being hyper-critical we had a lot of entries into their 22 and we didn’t capitalise on them,” said the Wales full-back.

“In an ideal world you would like to come out of them with more points but our general foundations were there on display.

“We came with the intent to play with multi-phase rugby and to express ourselves. We wanted to win races and work hard for each other, which we demonstrated.

“That win means a huge amount after a narrow loss and one that got away against Edinburgh in the first game then disappointing results against Cardiff, Munster and Leinster.

“Hopefully we have absorbed that winning feeling and take that forward into our next games.

“We’ve got to build on that in South Africa. We’ve got to stay tight as a group, learn about things that we can improve on but also give each other a pat on the back in the areas where we dominated.

“We’ve got to be more efficient because we played against 14 men and won’t have that many chances again but we also need to show our intent to play, we can’t just let the South African teams come at us.”

STAR MAN: Cai Evans was man of the match in the Dragons' win against the Ospreys (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

Victory against the Ospreys was especially sweet for Evans, who left the Swansea club last summer.

Solid under the high ball and possessing a big boot out of hand and from the tee, he has started life at Rodney Parade well and showed signs of his attacking prowess in the derby win.

Evans was signed to play full-back but is also third in line as fly-half, where he played age-grade rugby.

The loss of Angus O’Brien to a broken forearm means the 24-year-old is now prime back-up to Will Reed.

“It’s something that I have prepared for. I know my roles and when Dai brought me here he made his intention for me to cover 10 clear,” he said.

“We have to be versatile as a back line and the forwards also need to play multiple positions. I have to be ready for whenever I am needed at 10 and it is a position I enjoy.”

The Sharks have endured a tough start to the season with five straight losses but will present a formidable challenge up front for the Dragons.