Dragons 21 - 20 Ospreys

Chunky Norwich wrote:Which one is the most admired region? Is that a joke?

Western Mail wrote:OSPREYS boss Sean Holley believes the reliability of Dan Biggar and explosive teenage talents of Matthew Morgan can provide the perfect 10 combination for his region.

Morgan and Biggar are competing for the Ospreys outside-half jersey following the departure of James Hook to France.

There is a direct contrast in styles with the more reliable Biggar contrasted by the explosive skills of the diminutive teenager.

Biggar, 22, had seen off the challenge of Hook and has been the number one for most of the season, while also returning to the Wales squad for the defeat against Australia last month. But Morgan was handed the starting spot in the 17-12 victory over the Blues on New Year’s Day.

Following a bright start from the young star, Biggar was brought off the bench to clinch the victory with two penalties.

Shaun Holley of the Ospreys wrote:They are both very young and still learning, we see them both of them on a bit of a path at the moment although Daniel is a little bit further down the line in some aspects of the game.

If you look at the way we balance them on the field, I think we balance the romanticism and pragmatism. There is room for both players and that was shown against the Blues. Matthew showed what he could do when he broke defences and he also put some good kicks in. But perhaps at the end, it was a good decision to bring Daniel on and shore things up to claim the win.

Western Mail wrote:Morgan has excited a lot of coaches and supporters with his explosive talents and Holley admitted he does have that X-factor.

Shaun Holley of the Ospreys wrote:
Matthew offers you that little bit of flair and magic that not many players have, in his last two starts he has shown some good qualities. There are some basic elements of his game that are raw which there is with all young players learning their trade. His tackling, restarts and goal kicking all need to be improved on. But he has that ability to break sides down as well.

It is about nurturing him and putting him in at the right time and we felt that was right against the Blues.

We have a pretty good record of developing young players and Matthew has entrusted in us to help him come through at the right time.

Western Mail wrote:Morgan was handed his chance against the Blues and could start again against the Dragons tomorrow evening at Rodney Parade.

This came after Biggar was criticised for his performance against the Scarlets in the Boxing Day defeat, where rival outside-half Rhys Priestland controlled the game.

Biggar was accused of kicking too much but Holley believes his much-maligned outside-half has received more unwarranted negativity.

Shaun Holley of the Ospreys wrote: When you look at the Scarlets match we should have put that game to bed, there were mistakes and chances we missed and that was not down to Dan or even Matthew Morgan. The Scarlets kicked the ball as much as we did in that game through Rhys Priestland.

In our game against the Blues, Dan Parks was brought on against the Ospreys at half-time to kick 55 yards and attempt drop-goals. So we can’t just be looking at one team and one player.

Western Mail wrote:Meanwhile, Holley has hailed the form and character of former Wales captain Ryan Jones, who is playing his regional rugby at second-row because of injuries to Ian Evans, Alun Wyn Jones, James Goode, James King and the suspension of Ian Gough.

Shaun Holley of the Ospreys wrote:
He is adding a lot of value for us at the moment and he has shown a lot of character, for example, what many people don’t know is that against the Scarlets on Boxing Day, he was suffering from sickness but played through that.

You could see he was not at his best and maybe he should not have played but he dug in for us. But the two games either side of that he has been nothing sort of outstanding. He is a big player for us and I am sure he will be for Wales during the Six Nations.

BREW AT 13 FOR DRAGONS
By Edward Rice | Thursday, 05 January 2012
Newport Gwent Dragons have named Aled Brew at outside centre for their derby clash with the Ospreys at Rodney Parade on Friday (7:05pm).

TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE HERE

Aled Brew’s move from wing is brought about by the absence of centre Adam Hughes, following the ankle injury he sustained in last week’s fixture against the Scarlets..

Head Coach Darren Edwards said the positional change was carefully thought out “Aled Brew’s move to 13 from the wing will be a challenge for him but getting the ball to our fastest players has to be a priority and Aled is proven to be a devastating strike runner. With Tonderai and Will on the wings, there are plenty of options out wide.”

The Dragons will be captained by blind side flanker Danny Lydiate, who will lead the side for the first time on Friday night. Darren Edwards was confident that Lydiate was up to the challenge, “We have seen him grow within the Dragons environment over the last few seasons and the extra experience he has gained through the World Cup has certainly put him in good stead to lead the side today.”

Centre Ashley Smith returns to the Dragons backline at inside centre in place of Lewis Robling whilst Jason Tovey has recovered from the knee injury which forced him off during the Scarlets game to take his place at fly half.

In the pack, the only change is at open side flanker where the injured Gavin Thomas is replaced by recent Welsh squad member Lewis Evans who is due to make his 50th RaboDirect PRO12 appearance.

Although there is high demand for tickets for Friday’s game, there are still tickets available for the clash. To make sure you are there for what promises to be a great Welsh derby contact the ticket office on 01633 670 690 or you can buy tickets online by clicking here.

Newport Gwent Dragons
Martyn Thomas, Will Harries, Aled Brew, Ashley Smith, Tonderai Chavhanga, Jason Tovey, Wayne Evans, Nathan Williams, Lloyd Burns, Nathan Buck, Adam Jones, Rob Sidoli, Danny Lydiate (c), Lewis Evans, Toby Faletau

Replacements
Steve Jones, Phil Price, Dan Way, Jevon Groves, Darren Waters, Joe Bedford, Lewis Robling, Matthew Jones

Shaun Holley Ospreys wrote:
It's always difficult when you go to the Dragons and no doubt in the build up to the game people will point to our record there in recent years but we can't afford to dwell on things like that. This is another day and another group of players, and we will go there believing in our ability to follow up the win over the Blues with another improved performance.

We go there with the best defence record in the PRO12 and we are very proud of that fact. We need to make sure that we play the game on our terms on Friday night, not theirs, we need to know our roles and improve our accuracy. We have to make sure we don't give away cheap early points as we have done in some of our recent games to ensure that we can stay in the game long enough to impose ourselves on them, allowing us to fashion the kind of performance that you need when you go to places like there.

We have a good squad with plenty of depth, results this year have shown us that we can put a lot of trust into the squad, and with three games in twelve days we've had to utilise the squad fully. We've picked what we feel is the right side for the particular challenge that the Dragons provide, combined with the fixture demands, and it'll be a 23-man effort just as it was against the Blues on New Year's Day. If we show the same resolve and spirit that we did to secure that win, but improve the individual aspects of the game where we didn't reach the standards expected, then we'll be in a good place.

glamorganalun wrote:Can the Dragons raise their game to compete in the forwards, the Ospreys have the advantage in the front 5 but the Dragons have a better back row and the backs are fairly even i.e., until the subs come on, should be an interesting game.

Comfort wrote:I think Dragons are more than capable of winning or obtaining the LBP mind. Think this could be a stodgey affair with a fair bit of niggle. I cant wait!

Risca Rev wrote:I am not confident with Brewy at 13 to be honest. Yeah attack wise it could go well, but defensively he is probably going to be a bit lost. As I have said, we are due to have a change in fortunes soon (you would think), but I think we will probably face a more fired up Ospreys side than previous years and also they have less players in their squad who used to be affected by the Rodney Parade crowd (Biggar has been, but he's on the bench).

Tovey posted on twitter New Year, new start kind of thing, so hopefully the Dragons players come out fighting tonight.

munkian wrote:Sweeney only gets stick as he was absolute gash in his remaining time at Rodney Parade before signing with the Blues.