THE Dragons insist they won’t travel to Cardiff this evening with any emotional baggage despite an embarrassing 17-game losing streak against their closest rivals.
The Rodney Parade club make the short trip to the Arms Park in the United Rugby Championship to attempt to beat the Blue and Blacks for the first time in almost a decade.
Lyn Jones’ squad stunned Cardiff in the 2015 Challenge Cup quarter-final but every fixture since has ended in misery.
Just two members of the squad – hookers Elliot Dee and James Benjamin – have beaten the Arms Park club with the Dragons.
Of course, not all of those that will take to the field tonight (kick-off 5.15pm) have had many, if any, cracks at beating the side from the capital but it is a record that need ending.
Added to that is the fact that the last defeat was a humiliating one – on Boxing Day, 2023 Cardiff ran riot in a 55-21 victory, scoring seven of their nine tries in astonishing first half.
“You're aware of the history of that fixture, but you can't dwell on it,” said captain Angus O’Brien.
“It's a new opportunity and we’ve got a fresh squad, and we'll be going down there full of belief and excitement.
“It’s a big block coming up. We’ve got three derbies and we're entering the European competition, which is something we're really looking forward to.
“I feel the excitement has been building over the over the last few weeks. We’ve got Cardiff the first up at the Arms Park and we haven't won there for a long time. As a squad, we're really excited about it.”
It will be a new era for the Dragons after the departure of head coach Dai Flanagan after the frustrating first block of the campaign.
Interim head coach Filo Tiatia is holding the reins and has the chance to make a big impact with a derby game first up.
“In the first block there were five games when we had an opportunity to make a statement and win those games and it was narrow margins. We gave the opportunity to the other teams to take it,” said the caretaker boss, who has stepped up from defence coach.
“Every game it's trying to improve on the craft, challenging, demanding more from each other. We're learning as we go.
“Local derby games are really special. I remember playing against Cardiff when I played for the Ospreys, and they're special games. Players have an opportunity to play against a local rival just up the road so it’s exciting.
“Cardiff are a good team and our record against them is the record, but there is an opportunity this weekend to play our best.”
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