Dragons v Glasgow Warriors 9th February 2018

Dragons v Glasgow Warriors
Rodney Parade
9th February 2018
ko 19.45

Back to a bit of proper club rugby this weekend, well needed for those of us Scottish fans who need a bit of a break from the distractions of supporting Scotland. We are all hoping for a happier trip to Wales this weekend!

Glasgow it is fair to say are going to be decimated by international call ups and injuries, so not sure what kind of a team we can put out. We did pretty well in the AI window, but this time it is going to be harder. Good chance for the Drags to take a big scalp you would imagine and so will be up for the game. They have also be ticking over in the AWC, while the Glasgow lads, not involved with Scotland were all given the week off to go on holiday.

Who will benefit most from the respective strategies will remain to be seen.

Jacko
Matawalu
Jones (if released natch but now seems unlikely) or Tagive
V Man
Grigg
Hastings
Horne
Ashe
Smith
Fagerson
Peterson
MacDonald
Rae
MacArthur
Kebble

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Jacko
Matawalu
Jones (if released natch but now seems unlikely) or Tagive
V Man
Grigg
Hastings
Horne
Ashe
Smith
Fagerson
Peterson
MacDonald
Rae
MacArthur
Kebble

Bit of the last man standing about that team, but I don't imagine it will be far away.

Maybe some of the walking wounded could be back, not sure how long Big Brian was out for and Masaga who also seems to have been injured ever since he has been here. We really don't have much joy with our ex All Blacks over the years!

It would be good to see Paddy Kelly get a game as well, off the bench at least, as he has always seemed pretty promising. Robbie Nairn as well who was a very promising junior but we have not seen anything of since then. I guess this would be the game to try a few of them out.

After Amos didn't get selected for Team Wales today, hopefully we will have him released back to us for this. I won't hold my breath though.

Rae and Cochrane were the travelling reserves for Scotland at the weekend - if both are held back to do the same thing then both Glasgow and Edinburgh really are in trouble. Edinburgh would only have one hooker left in Fenton! Although to be fair with Berghan back I suspect Rae will be released.

Hopefully they can play for their clubs on Friday night and be backup options on the Saturday should anyone get injured in the warmups.

RDW_Scotland wrote:Rae and Cochrane were the travelling reserves for Scotland at the weekend - if both are held back to do the same thing then both Glasgow and Edinburgh really are in trouble. Edinburgh would only have one hooker left in Fenton! Although to be fair with Berghan back I suspect Rae will be released.

Hopefully they can play for their clubs on Friday night and be backup options on the Saturday should anyone get injured in the warmups.

Sunday you mean surely ?

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Rae and Cochrane were the travelling reserves for Scotland at the weekend - if both are held back to do the same thing then both Glasgow and Edinburgh really are in trouble. Edinburgh would only have one hooker left in Fenton! Although to be fair with Berghan back I suspect Rae will be released.

Hopefully they can play for their clubs on Friday night and be backup options on the Saturday should anyone get injured in the warmups.

Sunday you mean surely ?

You are correct - even better then!

They will play for their clubs surely? McCallum as well considering Berghan's return.

Glasgow actually look good at prop and struggling at hooker/lock. Some of the young guys have a serious opportunity to lay down a marker.

15. Ruaridh Jackson (130)
14. Lee Jones (70)
13. Nick Grigg (35)
12. Brandon Thomson (7)
11. Ratu Tagive (2)
10. Adam Hastings (4)
9. George Horne (14)

1. Alex Allan (67)
2. James Malcolm (22)
3. Siua Halanukonuka (9)
4. Rob Harley (C) (175)
5. Greg Peterson (27)
6. Matt Fagerson (18)
7. Chris Fusaro (134)
8. Adam Ashe (50)

Replacements:

16. Grant Stewart (2)
17. Oli Kebble (4)
18. D’Arcy Rae (37)
19. Kiran McDonald (8)
20. Matt Smith (14)
21. Henry Pyrgos (138)
22. Paddy Kelly (1)
23. Niko Matawalu (88)

Not available due to injury: Brian Alainu'uese (knee), Fraser Brown (head), Scott Cummings (hand), Alex Dunbar (thigh), Zander Fagerson (foot), Callum Gibbins (achilles), Ryan Grant (groin), Rory Hughes (shoulder), Sam Johnson (jaw), Lelia Masaga (knee), Pat MacArthur (shoulder), Leo Sarto (shoulder), Tim Swinson (hand) and George Turner (knee).

Not available due to international commitments: Jamie Bhatti (Scotland), Jonny Gray (Scotland), Stuart Hogg (Scotland), Peter Horne (Scotland), Huw Jones (Scotland) Ali Price (Scotland), Finn Russell (Scotland), Tommy Seymour (Scotland) and Ryan Wilson (Scotland).

All in all, not a bad team Glasgow have gotten out.

Looking forward to see the young tyros at half back, Horne and Hastings tearing it up. Thompson gets a run out at 12 to see if he can cut it there, with Paddy Kelly to get a long awaited run out in the second half sometime. He is big and direct and will be good to see how he gets on.

Good to see Ratu Tagive get back on the pitch after a nasty injury. He looked very promising last year when he got the chance, so hopefully he can get a few games now and show us what he can do.

Dragons: H Amos, A Warren, T Morgan, J Dixon, J Rosser, Z Kirchner, D Babos, S Hobbs, L Belcher, L Fairbrother, J Davies, R Landman, A Wainwright, J Benjamin, H Keddie (captain). Replacements: E Shipp, G Ellis, L Brown, H Williams, L Greggains, S Pretorius, G Henson, J Sage.

So we have three internationals back in Amos, Morgan and Leon Brown on the bench. Pretty light in forward cover, with a bit of impact from the backs in Henson and Pretorious.

I assume Hewitt is injured, otherwise I am surprised he isn't involved.

BigGee wrote:15. Ruaridh Jackson (130)
14. Lee Jones (70)
13. Nick Grigg (35)
12. Brandon Thomson (7)
11. Ratu Tagive (2)
10. Adam Hastings (4)
9. George Horne (14)

1. Alex Allan (67)
2. James Malcolm (22)
3. Siua Halanukonuka (9)
4. Rob Harley (C) (175)
5. Greg Peterson (27)
6. Matt Fagerson (18)
7. Chris Fusaro (134)
8. Adam Ashe (50)

Replacements:

16. Grant Stewart (2)
17. Oli Kebble (4)
18. D’Arcy Rae (37)
19. Kiran McDonald (8)
20. Matt Smith (14)
21. Henry Pyrgos (138)
22. Paddy Kelly (1)
23. Niko Matawalu (88)

Not available due to injury: Brian Alainu'uese (knee), Fraser Brown (head), Scott Cummings (hand), Alex Dunbar (thigh), Zander Fagerson (foot), Callum Gibbins (achilles), Ryan Grant (groin), Rory Hughes (shoulder), Sam Johnson (jaw), Lelia Masaga (knee), Pat MacArthur (shoulder), Leo Sarto (shoulder), Tim Swinson (hand) and George Turner (knee).

Not available due to international commitments: Jamie Bhatti (Scotland), Jonny Gray (Scotland), Stuart Hogg (Scotland), Peter Horne (Scotland), Huw Jones (Scotland) Ali Price (Scotland), Finn Russell (Scotland), Tommy Seymour (Scotland) and Ryan Wilson (Scotland).

Not to shabby. Should give them a game. Tagive did look very good indeed last season.

RiscaGame wrote:Dragons: H Amos, A Warren, T Morgan, J Dixon, J Rosser, Z Kirchner, D Babos, S Hobbs, L Belcher, L Fairbrother, J Davies, R Landman, A Wainwright, J Benjamin, H Keddie (captain). Replacements: E Shipp, G Ellis, L Brown, H Williams, L Greggains, S Pretorius, G Henson, J Sage.

So we have three internationals back in Amos, Morgan and Leon Brown on the bench. Pretty light in forward cover, with a bit of impact from the backs in Henson and Pretorious.

I assume Hewitt is injured, otherwise I am surprised he isn't involved.

I'm really surprised Babos has been made available for this. He looked really sharp when he came on for the under-20s.

Their loss is our gain!

Tagive looked to be a ready made replacement for Sarto. If he can get back to form and stay fit, that may be the case. Would have preferred Kelly and Smith to start but that is being picky.

Considering the injury+international list, that is a solid team. Interesting to see how far Pyrgos has fallen that Horne is considered the better option with a young fly half.

Aye, I don't know what is going on with Henry Pyrgos.   Watched the SF and Final from 2015 and HP was awesome in both games. Still think he has a bit to offer the Warriors mind you .

21st Century Schizoid Man wrote:Aye, I don't know what is going on with Henry Pyrgos.   Watched the SF and Final from 2015 and HP was awesome in both games.  Still think he has a bit to offer the Warriors mind you .

Henry's form probably has dipped slightly but not dramatically, but to be fair what has changed more is the form of Price and Horne, who both have something that Henry does not, that is sheer pace!

Both those SHs just seem made for the way Glasgow are set up to play so it is probably not that surprising that DR is picking them ahead of HP. Losing his starting spot, which was hard won by him, has probably effected him a bit and may have contributed to his dip.

Problem for Henry is what does he do about it and is he happy to stick around the Warriors as a squad player. The others are younger and still improving and fit both the club and national blueprint required just now. It won't be long at this rate before George Horne takes his place in the national squad as well. He may turn out to be the best of the lot.

I was at that Dragons 0-49 Glasgow game, or whatever the score was. Think it was a Sunday which made it worse somehow. A dark, dark day at RP. Think I cried into my Guinness. Hope this will be a bit more even

On another note, has anyone seen the two blokes at RP who sit there (Bisley Stand) wiring a bag of plugs?! Like a more manly version of knitting! Nearly choked on my beer first time I saw it! Not sure what they’re for or why they feel the need to do it at the rugby, but I guess it passes the time!

Brilliant. Wrong side of the ground for me, but sounds more entertaining than shouting every time ref etc.

Nothing better than an "every time ref!" shout less than 10 seconds into the game. Never gets old!

I ha it in my diary to go to this match, which would have been my first visit to the legendary Rodney Parade.

I should have bought some tickets a while back but left it, not imagining it was going to be a sell out and to check what the weather might be like.

Unfortunately that co-incided with us looking at and buying tickets for Italy v Scotland this march and much as I tried very hard to impress upon the wife the virtues of Newport, she went for Rome.

Next year I will book earlier!

Rome v Newport. Hmmmmmm. A tough choice!

The Oracle wrote:Rome v Newport. Hmmmmmm. A tough choice!

I was telling her about the transporter bridge, but I may have over sold it!

Rodney Parade will be much nicer next season, once it has had a spruce up. You’ll be able to see pics of our superstars like Cory Hill and Super Gav on the back of the Hazell Stand soon. Be much better. Worth the wait, I think

BigGee wrote:

The Oracle wrote:Rome v Newport. Hmmmmmm. A tough choice!

I was telling her about the transporter bridge, but I may have over sold it!

Took my daughter on that last year in the car. Only cost 50p! She wants to do it again every time we pass now. It’s not that good really!

RiscaGame wrote:Rodney Parade will be much nicer next season, once it has had a spruce up. You’ll be able to see pics of our superstars like Cory Hill and Super Gav on the back of the Hazell Stand soon. Be much better. Worth the wait, I think

Looking forward to it already!

The Oracle wrote:

BigGee wrote:

The Oracle wrote:Rome v Newport. Hmmmmmm. A tough choice!

I was telling her about the transporter bridge, but I may have over sold it!

Took my daughter on that last year in the car. Only cost 50p! She wants to do it again every time we pass now. It’s not that good really!

It’s pretty good walking over it, if you’re a wimp like me and not great with heights. Pretty good views if it’s a nice day.

The Oracle wrote:I was at that Dragons 0-49 Glasgow game, or whatever the score was. Think it was a Sunday which made it worse somehow. A dark, dark day at RP. Think I cried into my Guinness. Hope this will be a bit more even  

If only it was 0-49!

But seeing as we're talking about it, I sort of adopted Glasgow as my second side after that match. They were, and are, such a good side to watch.

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

The Oracle wrote:I was at that Dragons 0-49 Glasgow game, or whatever the score was. Think it was a Sunday which made it worse somehow. A dark, dark day at RP. Think I cried into my Guinness. Hope this will be a bit more even  

If only it was 0-49!

But seeing as we're talking about it, I sort of adopted Glasgow as my second side after that match. They were, and are, such a good side to watch.

Plus, they all love buckfast and scag. What's not to like

The emergency Buckfast supplies were going to get abused tonight, but it looks like I am getting to come home to watch it live instead.

RiscaGame wrote:The emergency Buckfast supplies were going to get abused tonight, but it looks like I am getting to come home to watch it live instead.

I cannot fathom why the monks truck that stuff up to Scotland when they could make a fortune touting it to the legion of potential 'buckaroos' in South Wales.

What's the song they sing at RP about 'he knocked it on' or something like that?

That's basically it! To the tune of the Marseillaise.

I remember some of Toulouse's coaching staff turning around in bafflement when that was sung a few years ago.

It's up there with another poetic masterpiece from the RP terraces: "One arm, he's only got one arm". Beautiful.

Brings a tear to your eye.

Good lord.

George Horne take a bow. Lovely little kick.

Funny half really. Both teams have done a lot of poor things and a bit of good. The one try celebration where the sub got a clip and the ball to the knackers of the Glasgow 13 were the best bits for me in between Dragons’ tries.

Zane’s kickoffs aren’t really good enough for me. They don’t allow us to properly challenge.

RiscaGame wrote:Funny half really. Both teams have done a lot of poor things and a bit of good. The one try celebration where the sub got a clip and the ball to the knackers of the Glasgow 13 were the best bits for me in between Dragons’ tries.

Zane’s kickoffs aren’t really good enough for me. They don’t allow us to properly challenge.

Yes, it's a bit mad. Amos is an absolutely quality player.

With Halfpenny missing training today with illness I would have thought they'd pull Amos from this game at the last minute (Liam W too from his Sarries game tomorrow) and get them in the Welsh squad. The alternative is Patchell to FB and Anscombe on at 10

Well a draw!

Well done Dragons for staying in the game. It was all Glasgow in the second half but you guts it out in defence and held on.

I suspect we will feel we left a couple of points behind, but it is a long season and every point counts and tonight, two will have to do.

I cannot believe they didn’t bring Henson on.

Amos aside we were pretty pants attacking wise.

What’s going on with Henson? He was the golden child for Jackman at the start and then only 1 or 2 sub-par performances and he’s out in the cold, with players who’ve never played 10 in pro rugby their whole careers preferred at 10 instead? Sounds like they’ve had a falling out? Which surprises me as Henson has been described by pretty much everyone (including Jackman) as the consummate professional since he arrived.

The Oracle wrote:What’s going on with Henson? He was the golden child for Jackman at the start and then only 1 or 2 sub-par performances and he’s out in the cold, with players who’ve never played 10 in pro rugby their whole careers preferred at 10 instead? Sounds like they’ve had a falling out? Which surprises me as Henson has been described by pretty much everyone (including Jackman) as the consummate professional since he arrived.

Praps he's not fully fit - he's notorious for not wanting to play when he's not 100%

You’d have thought Kingsley Jr would be more worthwhile on the bench then, given that we have the pleasure of him for another season too.

I think he’s fit, or he wouldn’t even make himself available.

Jackman seems a bit Gatlandesque, in that he is stubborn and I think he’s going to keep bashing this Zane square peg into the flyhalf round hole for a while.

RiscaGame wrote:You’d have thought Kingsley Jr would be more worthwhile on the bench then, given that we have the pleasure of him for another season too.

I think he’s fit, or he wouldn’t even make himself available.

Maybe he is just passed it?

How old is he now? He is certainly not someone you are going to build a team around.

BigGee wrote:

RiscaGame wrote:You’d have thought Kingsley Jr would be more worthwhile on the bench then, given that we have the pleasure of him for another season too.

I think he’s fit, or he wouldn’t even make himself available.

Maybe he is just passed it?

How old is he now? He is certainly not someone you are going to build a team around.

Do you mean Henson or Kirchner? If Henson, he was genuinely our best 10 at the start of the season. But Kirchner has neither age nor experience (at 10) on his side.

No you can’t build your team around him long term, but I think most Dragons supporters would say he is the best ten available to us this season and probably next given who we have signed. There is a huge difference with the time our backs have with him at ten. Tonight we only had Amos’ brilliance making things happen. If he was stuck with Team Wales, things would’ve been pretty bad (start aside).

BigGee wrote:

RiscaGame wrote:You’d have thought Kingsley Jr would be more worthwhile on the bench then, given that we have the pleasure of him for another season too.

I think he’s fit, or he wouldn’t even make himself available.

Maybe he is just passed it?

How old is he now? He is certainly not someone you are going to build a team around.

Who builds a team around a ten these days? They're not even the big decision maker in the backs on a lot of plays anymore

Stone Motif wrote:

BigGee wrote:

RiscaGame wrote:You’d have thought Kingsley Jr would be more worthwhile on the bench then, given that we have the pleasure of him for another season too.

I think he’s fit, or he wouldn’t even make himself available.

Maybe he is just passed it?

How old is he now? He is certainly not someone you are going to build a team around.

Who builds a team around a ten these days? They're not even the big decision maker in the backs on a lot of plays anymore

I disagree. The 10 doesn’t have to be a star player in terms of building the team around them. Doesn’t always have to be a marquee signing. But the 10 still dictates the play. Everything goes through the 10 and the style of 10 you have still seems to govern the way a team plays. You’d think that a 10 would just be able to follow a new pattern or game plan if the coach decides to switch things up. But look at Wales - rather than Biggar playing in a different way it seems that instead you need to change the 10 to get a different game plan and shape. Some stuff can’t be coached in (or out) of players it would seem.