Powell is wary of the Dragons

Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell (above) knows that the Dragons team they will face tomorrow will be a different challenge to that of the side they defeated in the United Rugby Championship.

The Durban-based side will be welcomed to Rodney Parade by the Dragons for a Challenge Cup encounter tomorrow night (kickoff 7.30pm SA time).

The game will be the last of the pool stages, with both sides having their sights set on going through to the next round.

The Sharks go into the match with 12 points, while the Dragons have seven.

It will also be the second time these two teams meet this season; they faced off in the URC last November at Durban’s Kings Park when the Sharks emerged victorious 69-14.

Powell is not paying too much attention to their previous win over the Dragons ahead of tomorrow’s clash.

“We also understand they will be different to the team that we played here in Durban about five weeks ago. So we expect a big challenge from the Dragons.

“Going into this Dragons game, if we want to be successful there, we can’t have one area of our game that’s not functioning to its potential. We’ll have to be clinical all round,” Powell said.

On paper the Sharks are expected to get an easy win in Wales, however, they are not letting their guard down.

The coaching staff have been doing their homework on the Dragons, looking at their traits.

“We have done our analysis on the team. I think they are pretty much a team that kicks long and tries to pin you in your half and for you to give them set phases to attack from,” added Powell.

“They are pretty good in their first three phases, that’s where they score most of their tries from, the first three phases of the line-out or scrum.

“You can see that they spend quite a lot of time on their set phase strikes and how they score from it. So, that’s probably what we will get from them,” he said.

Two other South African teams are in action in the Challenge Cup this weekend, also looking for victories to progress to the knockout rounds.

This afternoon, the Cheetahs take on French side Oyonnax in France (5.15pm SA-time), while the Lions have a home game against Ospreys at Ellis Park tomorrow afternoon kicking off at 3pm.