Head Coach Dai Flanagan wants to ‘get people excited in Gwent again’ as Dragons prepare to return home after two months away from Rodney Parade.
The Men of Gwent face the Vodacom Bulls from South Africa in the BKT United Rugby Championship on Saturday evening (kick-off 7.35pm) under the lights in Newport.
It is the first game for the club on home soil since mid-January and Flanagan is eager for his team to pick up on a strong run of form that had seen them win three out of four at Rodney Parade.
However, he has also outlined the size of the task against a physically an well-oiled Bulls side who are pushing for league honours.
“We’ve been decent at home, won three of the last four, and we want to put on a show and get people excited in Gwent again,” he said.
“We face a Bulls side who are an unbelievable rugby team and are one of the favourites for the league.
“They've got size, speed, skill set - they're formidable. Our challenge is to match them in all aspects and capitalise on opportunities, which we haven't always done this season.
“If we try to go pound for pound with them, they will win,” he stressed. “If we are clever of where we go pound for pound, then when we have a chance.
“We can't turn up and just be loose and say ‘right you have a go’ because physically, like have you seen with Wales and the Welsh clubs, we have some work to do.
“The quicker we can close that gap the better and there is an intention from everyone across the board, from our senior team to pathway teams to Premiership teams, to improve that.
“We’re probably never going to have the same potential in our group and South African teams and even Irish teams, in terms of size.
“What we must be is smart, whether that's moving the ball, playing a little bit more condensed with move shorter passes or widening the pitch, kicking less, or kicking more. That's our job as coaches, to find solutions.
“We can always just say they're bigger, they're quicker, they're stronger. Sometimes you can't change that. Our job is to decide what we are going to be good at.
“This is what the Dragons are built on, this is what we are going to be good at. We need to find that, need to show it, and there is no better time than Saturday.
“We’ve got to win more games, especially at home, and we've got six of our last seven games in Wales now, which is exciting.
“We want to climb as high as we possibly can in the league, and it starts this week.”
Watch the Dragons this March as they face Vodacom Bulls (Saturday, March 23) and Zebre Parma (Friday, March 29) in the BKT United Rugby Championship. CLICK HERE to buy your tickets now or call 01633 670690 during office hours.
They've got size, speed, skill set - they're formidable. Our challenge is to match them in all aspects and capitalise on opportunities, which we haven't always done this season...
