Head Coach Dai Flanagan has vowed to get back row Ollie Griffith back firing for derby season - admitting the talismanic forward can play a key part in helping Dragons enjoy festive success.
The 28-year-old from Newbridge was forced off in the 17th minute of the defeat at Hollywoodbets Sharks in the BKT United Rugby Championship last weekend.
Flanagan has revealed Griffiths suffered an issue with a pectoral muscle and will sit out Saturday’s game against Emirates Lions in Johannesburg as a precaution.
But he has also not ruled out holding him back during the start of EPCR Challenge Cup campaign against Oyonnax and Pau to make sure he features in the two derby games over Christmas and New Year.
“Ollie has picked up a niggle that won’t keep him out too long,” admitted Flanagan.
“It’s a slight tweak of his pec. It was more a performance call because you could see he was carrying it.
“Ollie is tough, he wouldn’t say much, but there was an incident in the game where he didn't look right.
“When you’ve got Harrison Keddie on the bench, why would you put him on when he can fly into things.
“When Ollie Griffiths is playing certain games, we stand a much better chance of winning. We need Ollie available for those games.
“Whether I use him in Europe is the question because we’ve got two big derbies coming up that we need to go after.
“Lloyd (Fairbrother) and Chris (Coleman) should also be good this weekend," Flanagan concluded.
“They both trained today (Tuesday), modified because the game is the important part of the week.”
Whether I use Ollie in Europe is the question because we’ve got two big derbies coming up that we need to go after...
