THE Dragons will ‘stick with the plan’ to freshen up their side for Friday’s trip to Leinster despite being on a high thanks to a last-gasp derby win.
The Rodney Parade won their United Rugby Championship opener for the first time since 2013 when they stunned the Ospreys at the death on Saturday.
Dai Flanagan’s side trailed 21-13 and were down to 14 men in the final quarter but got within striking distance thanks to Lloyd Evans’ penalty and then, with James Benjamin back from the sin bin, hammered away at the line for Luke Yendle to crash over.
The Dragons made a winning start to a vital first six-game block of the URC and now head to Dublin before home fixtures against the Lions, Sharks and Benetton.
Head coach Flanagan is relishing the chance to have a crack at heavyweights Leinster (kick-off 7.35pm) and is likely to tinker with the XV in a bid to leave with something to show for their efforts.
“We have a six-day turnaround to Leinster, potentially with their internationals back, in the Aviva Stadium but what an opportunity,” said the boss.
“We can’t wait and if you can’t get yourself up for that then there is a problem. The big message for us this week is looking after ourselves and controlling what we can control, we can’t look to hard at Leinster.
“We stick with the plan despite the win, we have some fresh bodies and a few players returning from injury.
“It’s an opportunity for them to capitalise off the back of the Ospreys win. We will have some beaten-up bodies but the excitement will probably mean players can go again.
“There is a six-game block and we need to ride this momentum and go fully confident. We will give it our best shot, it’s Leinster and what an opportunity.”
The Dragons have a number of players likely to come into the selection mix for the clash with Leinster, who started with a bonus-point win in Edinburgh.
Centre Steff Hughes, last season’s club captain, could come into the 23 after missing out on opening weekend while Harry Wilson made a big impression in midfield as an impact sub.
Scrum-half Rhodri Williams could swap roles with Dane Blacker to be a starter and Wales flanker and Australian lock Steve Cummins might be contenders if they get over niggles.
Flanagan said that Leon Brown’s game time will be managed and he will sit out either Leinster or the Lions game, with this weekend’s away fixture seeming to be the more likely.
However, that might be impacted by the availability of Chris Coleman, who suffered a pre-season niggle, and Dmitri Arhip, who is on the comeback trail from a knee injury.
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