Can Dragons pair earn their stripes in Zebre clash?
PROP Leon Brown and full-back Jordan Williams both make their first Guinness PRO14 appearances of the season as Dragons host Zebre at Rodney Parade tonight (8.15pm), but Wales backrower Aaron Wainwright is missing through injury.
Brown and Williams are among four changes from last week’s defeat at Leinster made by boss Dean Ryan.
Lock Matthew Screech is called up to partner Joe Davies in the second row for the region’s first game of the season on home soil.
Taine Basham is named at openside flanker, with Harrison Keddie moving to blindside, as Wainwright misses out.
Prop Greg Bateman could make his first appearance for Dragons after being named among the replacements.
“We’re in a good place and looking forward to a first game on home soil,” said Ryan.
“We know when Zebre have their international players they are a real threat. They have a real physical presence around their set-piece too.
“We have to answer the physical challenge up front and we have to make sure we have them under control to be able to get the result that we want.
“We’ve made some changes to the team, but at the same time we are trying to keep the majority together with some continuity,” he added.
“We are one game into the season so we have to get some continuity going and look to see some improvement before we lose our internationals.”
Fly-half Sam Davies agrees with
Ryan, being well aware of the threat Zebre pose after losing to the Italians in Newport last season.
“We are not taking this game lightly,” said the No.10. “We know we are expected to win, that comes after making strides forward last season.
“We are confident we can do that, but we have got to get things right in terms of our territorial game and accuracy, which we didn’t quite against Leinster.
“If you look at the ball in play time (against Leinster) it was 40 minutes, so that is quite high,” he added. “I think we are going to look to try and keep that ball in play as high as possible for this game, but on our terms.
“You can almost get caught up against some teams thinking that you will just run away with the game, but they are very strong opposition and hold a lot of internationals themselves.
“Early on in the game you have to stay clean and play a territorial game.
“Then hopefully, in the last 20 or 15 minutes, that’s when you can capitalise.”
Davies is hoping Dragons can improve their home form so that they can move up the table this season.
“If you look at last season we lost at home to Zebre and Benetton, all be it missing a few key guys, but they are the games that if we were winning last year it knocks us up the table a couple of places,” he said.
“That is what we are looking at this season. If we can win in our derby games, like we did last year, and win our other games at home then we are going in the right direction.
“We don’t want to set targets for this season, but we want to make sure we are winning our home games..”
For Zebre, who lost to Cardiff Blues last weekend, captain Giulio Bisegni will mark 100 appearances for the Italian side when he takes to the pitch in Newport, becoming only the sixth centurion in the club’s history. Dragons: J Williams; J
Holmes, N Tompkins, J Roberts, A Hewitt; S Davies, R Williams (c); B Harris, E Dee, L Brown, J Davies, M Screech, H Keddie, T Basham, R Moriarty. Reps: R Hibbard, G Bateman, A Jarvis, J Maksymiw, B Fry, T Knoyle, J Lewis, A Warren.
Zebre: J Trulla; J Laloifi, G Bisegni (c), F Mori, M Bellini; C Canna, G Palazzani; D Rimpelli, M Manfredi, E Bello, L Krumov, I Nagle, M Mbanda, J Meyer, D Sisi. Reps: M Ceciliani, D Fischetti, J Zilocchi, C Stoian, M Kearney, N Casilo, A Rizzi, L Masselli.
Referee: