ROBIN DAVEY is a regular at Rodney Parade, acting as chief rugby writer for the South Wales Argus over the last 42 years before retiring in December. The Argus praised his enthusiasm and knowledge of the game saying he was irreplaceable and that they were ‘pretty sure we won’t see his like again’ but ... he’s back!
His retirement has allowed him to break free of the journalistic shackles and devote more time to his love for the Dragons!
IT doesn't get any easier for the injury-ravaged Dragons as they face three Heineken Cup quarter-finalists in their next three games - a task which centre convert Adam Hughes admits is an exciting one.
First up are Saracens in Friday night's LV= Cup clash at Rodney Parade followed by RaboDirect PRO12 tests against Ulster at Ravenhill and Edinburgh at home in the following two weeks.
Saracens clearly won't be at full strength, but they have such a strong squad with players drawn from all parts of the world, while Ulster demolished Leicester in the Heineken and Edinburgh have also made it into the last eight of Europe's premier competition.
"It could be quite intimidating but fairly exciting, too, and it'll be even more rewarding if we beat them," said Hughes.
"It was at Saracens that I made my first ever appearance and we got a tremendous result there. After his performance that day Will Harries went on to get his Welsh caps.
"Saracens have got such a strong squad with enormous amounts of money invested in quality players. No matter what team they put out they will still be formidable opposition.
"Ulster was quite an exciting game over there last season and I was almost overpowered by the atmosphere, it was not your usual type and it was quite intimidating. The whole place seemed to be shaking.
"We lost to a last minute dropped goal by Ruan Pienaar and I guess he'll be playing again this time, but we don't want that to happen again. They have really picked it up though and to score 40 points against Leicester was no mean feat.
"Edinburgh have been playing really well, too, they have got plenty of belief and confidence now and they play an exciting brand of rugby. They've also got that try scoring machine Tim Visser on the wing, but we'll still have no excuses if we don't beat them at home."
Hughes accepts that it's going to be tough, but believes the confidence is returning and he's keen for the Dragons to recapture the form they showed towards the end of last season - something he believes will happen.
"These games may be tough but we've got to win them," he said. "We've still got a chance of getting back into the Heineken Cup next season and we will chase that until the end, so these are not dead-rubber games.
"They are going to be hard, but we've got to target them if we're going to achieve anything this season. I think we're going to pick it up and play like we did at the end of last season when everyone was saying what a good team we were.
"We have been building and we're starting to score more tries. Injuries haven't helped us and the long international window has taken key players from us, but we created more space against Prato and players like Will (Harries) are starting to create havoc.
"You can tell in training that the confidence is coming back and there is more continuity in team selection as well."
Hughes admits he is at an important stage in his career as he makes the switch from the wing where he started out for the Dragons to his more favoured position of centre.
"I'm still picking up things and improving my all-round game, I'm in a transitional period," he confessed. "But I'm happy with the way the season is going for me. I'm not scoring as many tries, but I'm happy with the small things in my game, I'm learning a lot in the No 13 position and things can only get better for me."
Hughes admits that his big ambition is to make it all the way to the top and play for Wales. "I aim to nail the 13 spot for the Dragons first, then start looking above and see how far I can go, maybe international honours, who knows?" he said.
He's flying high right now as befits a player who also takes light aircraft up way above Wales and the West country from his base at Cardiff Airport. His other ambition is to become a commercial pilot, but he needs to get about 150 hours in to achieve that, so it can wait until his rugby days are over.
For now it's onwards and upwards. That is way ahead for this talented 21-year-old who also lists cricket and golf - his father is a former Monmouthshire County player - among his other favourite sports.
He's that rare rugby commodity - a local boy playing for his home region. He was born in Newport and lived in Cwmbran, coming up through the ranks via Croesyceiliog Comprehensive School and Newport HSOB and Cwmbran at age group level.
He has been with girl friend Hannah for six years and he's set to be with the Dragons long-term, too, as he seeks to pilot them back into the upper reaches of Welsh and Celtic rugby.
His retirement has allowed him to break free of the journalistic shackles and devote more time to his love for the Dragons!
IT doesn't get any easier for the injury-ravaged Dragons as they face three Heineken Cup quarter-finalists in their next three games - a task which centre convert Adam Hughes admits is an exciting one.
First up are Saracens in Friday night's LV= Cup clash at Rodney Parade followed by RaboDirect PRO12 tests against Ulster at Ravenhill and Edinburgh at home in the following two weeks.
Saracens clearly won't be at full strength, but they have such a strong squad with players drawn from all parts of the world, while Ulster demolished Leicester in the Heineken and Edinburgh have also made it into the last eight of Europe's premier competition.
"It could be quite intimidating but fairly exciting, too, and it'll be even more rewarding if we beat them," said Hughes.
"It was at Saracens that I made my first ever appearance and we got a tremendous result there. After his performance that day Will Harries went on to get his Welsh caps.
"Saracens have got such a strong squad with enormous amounts of money invested in quality players. No matter what team they put out they will still be formidable opposition.
"Ulster was quite an exciting game over there last season and I was almost overpowered by the atmosphere, it was not your usual type and it was quite intimidating. The whole place seemed to be shaking.
"We lost to a last minute dropped goal by Ruan Pienaar and I guess he'll be playing again this time, but we don't want that to happen again. They have really picked it up though and to score 40 points against Leicester was no mean feat.
"Edinburgh have been playing really well, too, they have got plenty of belief and confidence now and they play an exciting brand of rugby. They've also got that try scoring machine Tim Visser on the wing, but we'll still have no excuses if we don't beat them at home."
Hughes accepts that it's going to be tough, but believes the confidence is returning and he's keen for the Dragons to recapture the form they showed towards the end of last season - something he believes will happen.
"These games may be tough but we've got to win them," he said. "We've still got a chance of getting back into the Heineken Cup next season and we will chase that until the end, so these are not dead-rubber games.
"They are going to be hard, but we've got to target them if we're going to achieve anything this season. I think we're going to pick it up and play like we did at the end of last season when everyone was saying what a good team we were.
"We have been building and we're starting to score more tries. Injuries haven't helped us and the long international window has taken key players from us, but we created more space against Prato and players like Will (Harries) are starting to create havoc.
"You can tell in training that the confidence is coming back and there is more continuity in team selection as well."
Hughes admits he is at an important stage in his career as he makes the switch from the wing where he started out for the Dragons to his more favoured position of centre.
"I'm still picking up things and improving my all-round game, I'm in a transitional period," he confessed. "But I'm happy with the way the season is going for me. I'm not scoring as many tries, but I'm happy with the small things in my game, I'm learning a lot in the No 13 position and things can only get better for me."
Hughes admits that his big ambition is to make it all the way to the top and play for Wales. "I aim to nail the 13 spot for the Dragons first, then start looking above and see how far I can go, maybe international honours, who knows?" he said.
He's flying high right now as befits a player who also takes light aircraft up way above Wales and the West country from his base at Cardiff Airport. His other ambition is to become a commercial pilot, but he needs to get about 150 hours in to achieve that, so it can wait until his rugby days are over.
For now it's onwards and upwards. That is way ahead for this talented 21-year-old who also lists cricket and golf - his father is a former Monmouthshire County player - among his other favourite sports.
He's that rare rugby commodity - a local boy playing for his home region. He was born in Newport and lived in Cwmbran, coming up through the ranks via Croesyceiliog Comprehensive School and Newport HSOB and Cwmbran at age group level.
He has been with girl friend Hannah for six years and he's set to be with the Dragons long-term, too, as he seeks to pilot them back into the upper reaches of Welsh and Celtic rugby.
