Scrum half Rhodri Williams admits it will be a ‘massive experience’ when he heads back to former club Bristol Bears for the crunch European Challenge cup showdown.
After wrapping up the regular Guinness PRO14 season, Dragons turn their attention to the European quarter-final with the high-flying English Premiership giants at Ashton Gate Stadium on Friday, September 18.
Williams knows all about the Bristol success story having played for the club for two seasons before moving to Dragons in 2018.
And the 27-year-old is relishing his return and insists Dragons must travel over the bridge with belief after a season of progress under Dean Ryan.
“We talk about experiences and a quarter-final against one of the best English sides at the moment is definitely one. It is going to be a massive experience for the whole squad,” he said.
“To be fair to Bristol, they are building a great team and you can see that with the success they have had recently.
“It’s a game we will really look forward to playing and challenging ourselves against one of the best.
“At the end of the day it is 15 against 15 so we will be going into it to win. We never go into a game defeated already so we are quite confident.
“It will be interesting to go back,” he added. “I haven’t really touched base with any of those boys recently, but I’m sure there will be a bit of banter."
Williams made his playing return in the derby day defeat to Scarlets and after almost six months without rugby the Swansea-born nine was just pleased to get back out on the field.
“It’s good to be back,” he said. “It has been a long layoff and it’s nice to be back playing and get out on the field, I was just disappointed with the result.
“We had spoken about the long-term plan before these games and the youngsters have had some valuable experiences.
“We are building and now we have Bristol and that is massive for us. “I think we have taken massive strides this season,” he added.
“We are disappointed that it got broken up by Covid-19 but these things happen.
“We have built well during the time away and the stuff we have done off the field will be key further down the line. Now it’s just nce to be back playing.”
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It’s a game we will really look forward to playing and challenging ourselves against one of the best...
