Bringing in 'bigger athletes' part of the plan for Dragons

Dragons RFC head coach Dai Flanagan has emphasized the need for “bigger athletes” as part of the team’s strategy in the BKT United Rugby Championship.

The struggling Welsh region finished second from bottom last season, with just three league wins from 18 games.

With four of the first five games at home, Flanagan sees this as an opportunity for the team to build momentum. The Dragons start their season against Ospreys at Rodney Parade on Saturday. Flanagan has urged his players to seize the moment and use the physicality of bigger athletes to gain an advantage.

In this vein Dragons have signed the likes of 6’8, 120kg second row Steve Cummins; 6’5, 115kg back row Shane Lewis-Hughs; and 123kg academy prop Owain James.

“It’s week by week this league, it’s tough whether you are home or away, every team is littered with internationals so there are no easy games.

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“The thing we are looking forward to most is playing at Rodney Parade in front of our fans. It’s a great chance to make a statement early on.”

“Our biggest challenge has been our collision work. We needed to improve that, whether that is in the tackle, the breakdown, the scrum, or the lineout,” he added.

“We made a big point that our pre-season needed to develop our athletes. Our recruitment needed to bring bigger athletes in. Our game needs to be a little different to allow us to play to the majority our strengths.

“We understand, like any boxing match, for the first six rounds we need to compete and match the collisions – that is what we are focussed on.

“New players have come in and they have been good,” he added. “They have added some high-performance behaviours to our group and a lot of experience.

“We’ve got Super Rugby, Top 14 and English Premiership players come in and add to the environment, so it has been great to see.

“They’ve settled in well. We have a couple of niggles, but they are keen to get out there and perform at Rodney Parade in front of our crowd in the league. We can’t wait to see them in our shirt.”

Upcoming home fixtures include games against Sharks, Lions, and Benetton Rugby before the end of October.