Newport Gwent Dragons have made two changes to the team that emphatically beat Leinster last weekend for their trip to Ulster.
Captain Jason Forster has recovered from injury to resume his place in the back row with Michael Owen moving to the second row. The Dragons have yet to announce their replacements leaving the decision until after training this afternoon. The Dragons met Ulster in a pre season friendly match at Rodney Parade running out winners by 30 points to 7. However, with the match at Ravenhill the Dragons are expecting nothing less than a tough, physical encounter.
The Dragons travel to Ulster buoyed by their victory last Friday team manager Jim McCreedy commenting, “naturally we were delighted with the win we had over Leinster but all focus this week has been on the challenges that Ulster pose. They have suffered two defeats at home in the Celtic League and will be hurting from those. They will want to re-establish fortress Ravenhill and put on a performance for their supporters. We beat them in the pre-season match we had against them but that counts for nothing on Friday night. They are an extremely strong side despite being without captain Andy Ward and we will need to be on top of our game to come away with a victory.”
Newport Gwent Dragons have also announced that they will be hosting the Wales V England U21 international at Rodney Parade on Friday February 4th. All at Rodney Parade are naturally delighted to be hosting such a fixture, Chief Executive Andy Marinos commenting, “It is a fantastic opportunity for us all here at Rodney Parade and we are delighted to have international representative rugby back at our ground. It shows confidence from the Union that we can undertake and host such a high profile event. All the staff at Rodney Parade are excited with the challenge and for supporters in the region it provides them with the chance to see the stars of tomorrow. We will be liasing with the local clubs in our area and offering special ticketing initiatives for their youth teams.”
A large crowd is expected for this fixture as the team hope the Gwent supporters try and beat last years attendance of 7,000 when it was England’s turn host this fixture. England the current Under 21 6 Nations Champions, won the Grand Slam for the first time at this level last year. Wales mean while will look to try and repeat the 2003 Grand Slam success. It is anticipated that the match will be shown live on BBC Wales.
Dragons Team:
Kevin Morgan, Gareth Wyatt, Percy Montgomery, Sione Tuipulotu, Nathan Brew, Ceri Sweeney, Gareth Cooper, Rod Snow, Steve Jones, Rhys Thomas, Ian Gough, Michael Owen, Jamie Ringer, Jason Forster (c), Richard Bryan.
Ulster:
Bryn Cunningham, Tommy Bowe, Kevin Maggs, Paul Steinmetz, Tyrone Howe, David Humphreys (C), Kieran Campbell, Simon Best, Paul Shields, Rod Moore, Gary Longwell, Matt McCullough, Campbell Feather, Neil Best, Roger Wilson. Replacements: Nigel Brady, Ronan McCormack, Rowan Frost, Matt Mustchin, Neil Doak, Paddy Wallace, Jonny Bell
