It was a tough outing for us to Munster earlier this season and it’s good to have the opportunity to look for a bit of revenge this weekend.
The team is definitely on a bit of a high at the moment. Following the wins against the Ospreys and Saracens, we were really pleased to get the draw away against a full-strength Ulster side. Ravenhill is one of the toughest grounds to go to in the Magners League and Ulster are very tough on their home patch so to have come back into the game the way we did and get the two points is a big bonus.
This is probably a good time to be playing Munster with a lot of their Irish internationals unavailable, but you only have to look at the names of Howlett, de Villiers and Mafi and to know that they are still heavyweights and a really tough challenge for us.
It’s been great to see Luke getting some more international matches under his belt in the Six Nations and we’re all hoping to see Danny Lydiate get another cap before the end of the tournament. It’s also a great sign of the future of the region to see so many Dragons players in the Welsh Under 20 side and I’d like to congratulate Matthew Pewtner Dan Watchurst Toby Faletau Rhys Jenkins and James Thomas from the Dragons Academy who have all been lining up for Wales.
It’s also good news that Jabba (Steve Jones) has signed a new contract here. He is one of the stalwarts of this team and his standing and leadership are very important in the side.
Off the field, several of the players have been working on their post-playing careers. Rhodri Gomer Davies is clearly working on his media profile with a cameo appearance planned in Pobol y Cwm and a kid’s programme called High 5 where he will be facing a series of “physical and mental challenges” against other Welsh celebrities. Seeing as he may well be the only professional sportsman in the competition – the lads are all keen to see if he gets beaten on the physical challenges and are ready to give him plenty of grief if he does!
Not content with being a rising star of the front row, Aaron Coundley clearly also wants to be a star of the silver screen and there are rumours that he is planning to take part in the next series of Britain’s Got Talent as a Hulk Hogan impersonator – I’m not sure that there’s much call for that sort of thing but now that Alex Walker and Will Harries are back from Vegas with all the experience they picked up there, perhaps they’ll be able to help him polish his act!
Munster are well-known for their vocal support but I know that there is nothing to beat a Rodney Parade atmosphere, so get behind the boys and we’ll do our best to make sure that our supporters have plenty to sing about!
