Boss Dai Flanagan has urged his Dragons to grasp the opportunity in the festive derbies with Cardiff Rugby and Scarlets.
The Men of Gwent travel to a packed-out Cardiff Arms Park on Boxing Day (kick-off 3pm) before welcoming Scarlets to Rodney Parade on New Year’s Day (kick-off 5.15pm).
Flanagan admits the busy period is one of his favourite times of the year with back-to-back Welsh derbies in a matter of days.
And he wants his players to rise to the challenge as they bid to climb the BKT United Rugby Championship.
“Christmas is the best time of year,” smiled Flanagan. “We owe Cardiff a good performance.
“We were disappointed with the home performance against them and I’m sure if we play well we will stand a chance.
“We need to get that hoodoo off our back and that’s a big game for us now.
“We need to make sure that collectively we don’t let each other down going into what is a big derby period for us,” he added.
“It’s full of excitement and opportunity. We need to take that.”
Flanagan is also sure his squad can handle two physical battles in the space of a week after praising the manner in which a number of young players stood up in the opening rounds of European competition.
“Our squad depth is pretty healthy,” said Flanagan. “These youngsters are performing day in and day out and it gives us as coaches the confidence to put them out on the field.
“Some have had a lot of game time, someone like Ryan Woodman, and you are seeing the increase in performance.
“We just need to make sure we get the recovery right because we are in the middle of a long run of games, and we’ll be asking then to go again sometime soon.”
Tickets for the home derby game with Scarlets - as well as our European game with Hollywoodbets Sharks - are on sale NOW – click HERE to buy online or call the Ticket Office team on 01633 670 690 during office hours.
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