Dragons face Benetton Rugby in Italy this Saturday in Round Three of the European Challenge Cup - ahead of the fixture at Stadio Comunale di Monigo (kick-off 3.15pm UK time). Ahead of the game - that is being shown live on S4C - we look at the match facts in Round Three...
- Benetton Rugby and Dragons have never faced each other in the Challenge Cup but were in the same pool in the Heineken Champions Cup in 2007/08, each team winning their away game in that campaign.
- Benetton Rugby have won 10 of their 12 completed home games in the Challenge Cup (L2), those wins coming by an average margin of 15 points.
- Dragons have lost their last four games in the Challenge Cup, their longest losing streak in the competition; they have won each of their six games played against Italian opposition in the Challenge Cup though, by an average margin of 33 points.
- Only USAP (19) have conceded on average more penalties per game than Benetton Rugby (17) and Dragons (15.5) in the Challenge Cup this season.
- Dragons’ Josh Lewis made 175 carry metres during his round 2 game against Lyon, the most for a player in a Challenge Cup game this season; he is averaging 12.5 metres per carry this season, more than any player with 10+ carries.
Round 3 General Notes:
- Leo Berdeu scored 21 points – the most by a Lyon player in an EPCR Challenge Cup match – in the Round 2 away win against the Dragons.
- Sam Davies of the Dragons is the tournament’s leading scorer with 24 points from his two matches to date.
- Biarritz Olympique – tournament winners in 2012 - will play their first European match at Parc des Sports Aguiléra since the 2013/14 season when they host Newcastle Falcons in Pool A on Friday evening.
- The Lyon wing, Davit Niniashvili, has made the most offloads to date this season with seven.
- The London Irish pair, Olly Cracknell and Augustin Creevy, as well as Lyon’s Ethan Dumortier, are this season’s leading try scorers with two apiece.
- The Zebre Parma second row, Liam Mitchell, is currently top of the tackle charts with 32 from his two matches, and Mitchell has also won the most line outs with 12.
- The Worcester Warriors v RC Toulon and Benetton Rugby v Dragons matches in Pool A and Pool B respectively will be the first time the clubs have met in the EPCR Challenge Cup.
- Taine Basham of the Dragons has beaten most defenders with an impressive total of 15 while his teammate, Josh Lewis, is the tournament’s leading metre maker on 191.
- The Lyon pair, Colby Fainga’a and Killian Geraci, as well as Zebre Parma’s Eduardo Bello, have made the most turnovers with four apiece.
