How many Dragons players does it take to change a light bulb?
38. Apparently. That’s how many players got game time at Rodney Parade last night in a warm up “friendly” with the Scarlets. There is no doubt that Lyn Jones’ squad is bigger and better than before the last campaign. There is real depth in most positions. When Tyler Morgan returns from World Cup duty, for example, Jones will take his pick from Morgan, Jack Dixon (who looked in fine fettle after attending the gruelling Welsh training camps over the summer), ex-Scarlet Adam Warren, Pat Leach…the list goes on. In the back row, an area the two ex-flankers on the coaching team know quite a bit about, they will be enjoying the luxury of having to make a call between Taulupe Faleatau, Nick Croswell, Ed Jackson, Ollie Griffiths, Nick Cudd, James Benjamin…
Scarlets and Dragons Keeping Warm
Wales U20 star Ollie Griffiths looked lean and hungry for action last night, but will face a real battle to unseat the excellent Nick Cudd. There will be battles like this all over the park, which can only be good news for the coaches. The Rodney Parade faithful also caught a glimpse of the latest SA import, scrum half Sarel Pretorius. The less heralded Charlie Davies looked like another good scrum half acquisition, possessing a sharp passing game from the base of the rucks. Ashton Hewitt on the wing made the most of what ball came his way, carving the opening for an excellent Tom Prydie try in the first half.
These training games are always likely to lack a bit of an edge, but it was heartening to see over four thousand folk attending. The Hazell Stand was buzzing. Strangely for the Dragons, their dominance at scrum time, excellent line out work and strong counter-rucking and tackling was rewarded with a 29-20 defeat. For all the talk of “performance rather than scoreboard” Messrs Kingsley and Lyn Jones would have dearly loved to put those points on the board. The Scarlets burgled two interception tries, the second of which effectively ended the contest. The coaching team will be asking questions about the flat-footed nature of the attack lines on both moves.
The winning habit is a precious commodity. These Dragons need to get it, and hoard it.
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