Newport Gwent Dragons are aiming to keep their 100% away Magners League record when they travel to the Sportsground in Galway on Friday (kick off 6.30pm).
The Dragons have announced a 24-man squad for the game against Connacht with the starting XV confirmed after Thursday's training session. American international duo Paul Emerick and Mike Hercus return following their part in America's qualification into the Rugby World Cup. Emerick scored three tries in the two match series against Uruguay while Hercus kicked 30 points. Ruled out through injury are Gareth Wyatt (ribs), Steve Jones (shoulder) and Rhys Thomas (chest).
The game is Connacht's fifth consecutive home match but they have only won one and drawn one in front of their home fans. The Dragons are currently a point behind Connacht in the table but have two games in hand and are looking for a third away win in the league.
"Connacht away will be an extremely difficult match," commented head coach Paul Turner. "They are a credit to the Magners League and are capable of beating anyone on their day. They have a very good record in the European Challenge Cup competition and always make good progress in the competition. They are very good on their own patch and know how to play the conditions in what can sometimes be a windy place. They have some very good players who are well coached and know how to win games. We have to be spot on with the things that we do and we will have to play really well if we are to win. We know we will be competitive but we have to keep our error count to a minimum and manage what will be a fiercely committed Connacht team."
Jamie Corsi (prop) has been named in The Dragons squad following Rhys Thomas being ruled out with a chest injury. Corsi was a member of the Wales U19 Grand Slam winning squad and featured in the U19 World Cup in Dubai. Corsi began his rugby with Newport HSOB and has been playing for Ebbw Vale for the past two seasons. He becomes the sixth academy member to feature this season following in the footsteps of Gareth Maule, Ashley Smith, Lewis Evans, James Harris and Alex Walker, although Walker is now on a development contract with the region.
"We are looking to the future by introducing the youngsters and am pleased with the academy input," continued Paul. "It is early days but the players we have introduced have taken their chances well and have big futures ahead of them. They are experiencing senior rugby and benefiting from the experiences and will be better players for it."
One player who has made a big impact with The Dragons is 20-year old Aled Brew. Looking ahead to the game on Friday he said, "Friday's game allows us to build on what we have achieved in our two away league games to date and also from the EDF Energy Cup match against Northampton. We are looking to take our game forward on Friday and secure another away win as well as building towards our European Challenge Cup campaign. In training this week we have been working on the positives from Northampton while trying to improve on those things that didn't work quite so well. It was great to secure a win over the Guinness Premiership side but it is important that we maintain momentum and take that into the game against Connacht which is an extremely important one for us as a squad. We have picked up two away wins in our league campaign so far and if we are to keep pushing in the league then it is important for us to secure another four points. We have set our targets and what we want from the match which is a win to propel us forward into the Bayonne game. However, before we even think about Europe we must build on last weekend's result and we travel to Connacht determined to win."
Dragons Squad
Kevin Morgan, Richard Fussell, Paul Emerick, Ashley Smith, Nathan Brew, Aled Brew, Ceri Sweeney, Mike Hercus, Craig Warlow, Gareth Cooper, Alex Walker, Adam Black, Ben Daly, Kieran Crawford, Jamie Corsi, Lee Harrison, Ian Gough, Peter Sidoli, Bryn Griffiths, Luke Charteris, Colin Charvis, Jamie Ringer, Nic Fitisemanu, Michael Owen.
