THE Dragons are poised to bring their Wales stars back for Friday’s trip to Bath but failure to feature at the Rec won’t rule leading figures out of the United Rugby Championship opener.
The Rodney Parade club make the short trip to the home of the Premiership runners-up (kick-off 7.15pm) to finish their preparations for the URC curtain-raiser against the Ospreys a week on Saturday.
Wales internationals Rio Dyer, Ben Carter and Matthew Screech look in line for a hit-out in Bath after touring Australia in the summer, when talisman number eight Aaron Wainwright suffered a hamstring injury that will sideline him until November.
The likes of Leon Brown, Shane Lewis-Hughes and Cai Evans are also set to come into the mix as things ramp up after inexperienced squads were named for the friendly losses to Hartpury University RFC and Bristol.
However, the Dragons are still mulling over their selection for Bath and won’t take risks with their leading figures, backing their training intensity to get players ready for the Ospreys.
Wales hooker Elliot Dee is eyeing that derby after a summer recovery from an ankle injury suffered in May that ruled him out of the Wallabies clashes while full-back/fly-half Angus O’Brien and tighthead Dmitri Arhip have also been nursing niggles.
Attack coach Matt O’Brien believes the seniors that head into the season without any friendly action will be ready to hit the ground running in the URC.
“They have been in training and are on top of all the new things that we are bringing in and all the plays, and the way that we want to play,” said O’Brien.
“They are very good rugby players and we would expect them to be able to slot in seamlessly for the Ospreys even if they haven’t played in pre-season.”
The Dragons have given game time in friendlies to plenty of young talent that is more likely to play in Super Rygbi Cymru than URC this season.
They finished against Bristol with an extremely inexperienced pack of which only Wales Under-20s captain Ryan Woodman and 21-year-old hooker Sam Scarfe have played competitive professional games.
O’Brien has played alongside and against a raft of talented youngsters in the Premiership for Newport RFC and is excited by what is coming through.
“From playing with the likes of Joe Westwood, Harri Ackerman, Che Hope, I’ve seen the growth in them from training sessions and games,” said the fly-half/centre.
“The difference from the start of last season to the end for Joe was massive – I got to hear his chat, his confidence to get on the ball and see first-hand the effect that he was having on games.
“I’ve seen Newport players grow while I’ve also been able to look at Dragons players in opposition and perhaps see their work-ons, although I’ll be playing less this season.”
The Dragons are set to name their team to face Bath at midday on Thursday.
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