Smith – the former South African outside half who played for Newport in the 1999 / 2000 European Challenge Cup tournament before moving to Italy and playing for Treviso for three seasons – returns as the Head Coach of the reigning Italian champions.
The Dragons beat Treviso 35-32 in Round 3 at Stadio Comunale di Monigo last Saturday, coming away with a vital bonus point.
On the back-to-back matches with Treviso, Dragons Head Coach Paul Turner commented:
“For 45 minutes in Treviso we played some wonderful rugby but unfortunately some glaring errors allowed Treviso back in the game. That will make the Italians more confident travelling to Rodney Parade this weekend and we must improve defensively. We must also make sure that we play the football that we are capable of and produce the top performance that we owe to our supporters.”
Colin Charvis captains the team against Treviso and added: “It was pleasing to get an away win in Europe. We played some top class rugby out there last week, bringing home the five points that we went out there to get, although equally we switched off and made some mistakes. We are determined to learn from that and put in a full 80 minute performance this weekend.”
Full back Kevin Morgan is fired up for the Round 4 contest in front of the home fans.
“The fans who travelled to Treviso last week were superb and we’ll be looking for a win at home to thank them for their commitment to supporting the team,” said Morgan. “When you’re away from home, especially in Europe, the travelling fans give you that extra confidence and last week we managed a win. As a team we thank everyone who travelled to support us last week.
“This week we are feeling confident but we don’t underestimate the Treviso side. They are a strong unit as they showed in last week’s second half performance.”
Head Coach Paul Turner announces a strong team again this weekend. The team is as follows:
15 Kevin Morgan
14 Martyn Thomas
13 Paul Emerick
12 Rhodri Gomer Davies
11 Richard Fussell
10 Ceri Sweeney
9 Andy Williams
1 Adam Black
2 Steven Jones
3 Rhys Thomas
4 Luke Charteris
5 Michael Owen
6 Joe Bearman
7 Richard Parks
8 Colin Charvis (captain)
16 Ben Daly
17 Hugh Gustafson
18 Adam Jones
19 Jamie Ringer
20 Wayne Evans
21 Aled Thomas
22 Ashley Smith
