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Gavin Henson among the nine players who are leaving struggling Dragons

Gavin Henson is one of Dragons' departing players

Nine players are set to leave PRO14 strugglers Dragons following the conclusion of yet another poor season by the Welsh region.

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Jason Tovey, who earlier this season became the first player to score 1,000 points for Dragons, leaves after completing a successful third spell at the region.

Former captain Rynard Landman, who made 115 appearances after moving to Rodney Parade in 2014, and fellow South African Zane Kirchner will also move on at the end of the campaign.

Joining the trio will be fly-half Gavin Henson, centre Jarryd Sage, prop Dan Suter and wing George Gasson.

With their departures already confirmed, Hallam Amos, who has made 115 appearances since his debut a decade ago, will join Cardiff Blues, while scrum-half Rhodri Davies departs for Cornish Pirates.

All nine players are to be recognised at the region’s end of season awards alongside Gerard Ellis, Calvin Wellington and James Thomas who left during the season.

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Interim coach Ceri Jones, said: “We thank all the players for their hard work and professionalism during their time at Dragons. They leave with our best wishes and we wish them well in their future endeavours.”

Jones is expected to remain on at the club as an assistant to the incoming Dean Ryan, who will replace Bernard Jackman as head coach following his sacking last December following a troubled 18 months in charge of the region who are struggling to rid themselves of the status of Wales’ four-best team.

Dragons won just five of their 21 league games this season to finish sixth in their conference, 31 points behind Benetton who finished third to qualify for this weekend’s quarter-finals.

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DRAGONS LEAVERS 2018/19
Jason Tovey – 178 Dragons appearances; 1,009 points
Hallam Amos – 115 Dragons appearances; 180 points
Rynard Landman– 115 Dragons appearances; 70 points
Zane Kirchner – 27 Dragons appearances; 24 points
Jarryd Sage – 23 Dragons appearances; 20 points
Gavin Henson – 18 Dragons appearances; 103 points
Dan Suter – 10 Dragons appearances
Rhodri Davies – 8 Dragons appearances; 10 points
George Gasson – 4 Dragons appearances; 5 points

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cw 8 hours ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Thanks JW for clarifying your point and totally agree. The ABs are still trying to find their mojo” - that spark of power that binds and defines them. Man the Boks certainly found theirs in Wellington! But I think it cannot be far off for ABs - my comment about two coaches was a bit glib. The key point for me is that they need first a coach or coaches that can unlock that power and for me that starts at getting the set piece right and especially the scrum and second a coach that can simplify the game plans. I am fortified in this view by NBs comment that most of the ABs tries come from the scrum or lineout - this is the structured power game we have been seeing all year. But it cannot work while the scrum is backpeddling. That has to be fixed ASAP if Robertson is going to stick to this formula. I also think it is too late in the cycle to reverse course and revert to a game based on speed and continuity. The second is just as important - keep it simple! Complex movements that require 196 cm 144 kg props to run around like 95kg flankers is never going to work over a sustained period. The 2024 Blues showed what a powerful yet simple formula can do. The 2025 Blues, with Beauden at 10 tried to be more expansive / complicated - and struggled for most of the season.

I also think that the split bench needs to reflect the game they “want” to play not follow some rote formula. For example the ABs impact bench has the biggest front row in the World with two props 195cm / 140 kg plus. But that bulk cannot succeed without the right power based second row (7, 4, 5, 6). That bulk becomes a disadvantage if they don’t have a rock solid base behind them - as both Boks showed at Eden Park and the English in London. Fresh powerful legs need to come on with them - thats why we need a 6-2 bench. And teams with this split can have players focused only on 40 minutes max of super high intensity play. Hence Robertson needs to design his team to accord with these basic physics.



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