Sam Davies knows Dragons will have to deal with the pressure of added expectancy when they come up against his former region - but he is relishing the prospect of the final Welsh derby of the festive season.
Dragons kick-off 2020 with the final Welsh derby of the Guinness PRO14 festive season against Ospreys at Rodney Parade on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).
It is a team that needs no introduction to fly half Davies who played 150 games and scored 836 points for Ospreys over seven years before leaving for Dragons last summer.
The marksman – who has already amassed 106 points in 11 games for Dragons this term – fully expects Ospreys to bounce back from a difficult season to date, that has seen them win just once in all competitions.
However, he wants that to be after Saturday afternoon and for Dragons to continue to make strides forward in his first campaign at Rodney Parade.
“People are starting to put us as favourites in games now, which doesn’t happen for the Dragons normally,” he said.
“In previous years, people would have written us off in this game. It’s going to be interesting to see how we cope with people expecting a bit more from us this time.
“I feel we are making strides in the right direction. But we are not getting ahead of ourselves here.
“We are digging ourselves out of what has been a hole and that journey has only just started in our opinion.
“There is a resurgence that’s going to come from them, knowing all the boys down there,” he added.
“Obviously they lost quite heavily against the Scarlets. But I have got mates down there and I am sure they are going to pull themselves out of the hole, just not this weekend hopefully!"
Davies admits it will be a case of friends reunited on Saturday as he comes up against a team – and players – who he knows very well.
But he acknowledged that any friendly banter will be left until after the 80 minutes on the field.
“It’s obviously my old club and stuff,” he said. “They do know me and I certainly know them and I’m sure a few boys will be out to get me.
“But it’s part and parcel of it and I am looking forward to the challenge. Teams are always out to get most outside halves these days anyway.
“I spent 10 brilliant years down the Ospreys, so it’s going to be good to come up against some mates,” he added.
“As you know with rugby in Wales, it’s quite vicious on the pitch, but then when it comes to off the pitch, we are all quite good mates.
“I’m looking forward to maybe catching up with one or two of them for a beer after the game.
“But, first and foremost, it’s about the game, so I’ll keep my friendship duties for after the match.”
Reflecting on his time at Dragons so far, Davies admits the summer move has been a huge positive.
And after landing the vital last second drop goal to stun Scarlets on home soil before Christmas, he is hoping for another vocal home crowd to cheer the Dragons into the new year.
“I am really enjoying myself here,” said the 26-year-old. “It was a tough decision at the time. But, in hindsight, it’s quite blatant to see it was a good decision for me.
“The atmosphere was incredible at the end of the Scarlets game,” he added.
“I haven’t really had an atmosphere like that in my career, so it adds to the move being successful.
“Coming up against a Scarlets team that was fully loaded and winning, that was a massive moment for us as a team.
“Hopefully we can have more nights like that at Rodney Parade and make it a real tough place to come.”
Watch Dragons in derby day action in the opening game of 2020 as we welcome Ospreys to Rodney Parade on Saturday (kick-off 3pm). Click HERE to buy your tickets and join us for more top Guinness PRO14 action.
I feel we are making strides in the right direction... But we are not getting ahead of ourselves here...
