Scrum half Rhodri Williams has urged Dragons to play with confidence when they tackle Munster in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and look to take pressure off themselves.
Dragons travel to Munster eager to secure a second win of the season on the road in the URC.
The returning Williams acknowledges the odds will be stacked against Dean Ryan’s men – Munster are unbeaten at home for eight games and Dragons now won at Thomond Park in 18 years.
However, the Welsh international insists with little expectation it is a chance for Dragons to express themselves and show what they are capable of.
“It’s one we can look forward to. It’s a great place to play and we can take the pressure off ourselves,” he said.
“We have prepped really well, and the boys are confident about having a real go and seeing what we can get out of it. We are massively the underdogs, so it does take pressure off.
“You never go into any game to lose so we'll give a give a good go,” he added.
“We've got things ready if we want to play and we have got things if we need to look at game management. We’ve got all those tools so we can utilise that.
“If they give us a certain picture, hopefully we can take advantage of that.”
Williams admits the huge Thomond Park pitch presents different challenges – but it an area Dragons can also look to exploit spaces.
“It’s a big pitch which probably does favour the attacking side, because you have got more room to expose teams,” said Williams, who starts at half back alongside Sam Davies.
“Defensively you got to manage your spacings. If you go too wide, they can go through you.
“It’s a challenge and it's something that we’ll work on as a as a team.
“It’s nice to be back playing and starting,” he added. “I was off with an injury layoff and it has been a bit stop start this season with Covid.
“We’ve got this game and then another two-week break before South Africa - then the games come thick and fast with nine weeks on the bounce.
“We can’t hide away from results. They haven’t been good enough; we know that and as a player group we've spoken about things we can do better and where we can look at ourselves.
“We've had some harsh conversations recently and hopefully we can put a better performance out in Munster.
“The pressure is off. We have got to be confident and see what we can do.”
We've had some harsh conversations recently and hopefully we can put a better performance out in Munster...
