Boss Dean Ryan has revealed that Wales international back row Ross Moriarty is set to return during the Welsh derby season.
Number Eight Moriarty is yet to feature for Dragons this season after returning from the Rugby World Cup in Japan with a virus.
However, the abrasive 25-year-old is now back in training and pushing for a return in the huge home Guinness PRO14 clash with Scarlets on Saturday afternoon at Rodney Parade (kick-off 5.15pm).
“Ross is coming back this week and is desperate to play,” revealed Ryan.
“He came back light after having a virus post-World Cup and it’s been difficult for him to shake it off and also the weight loss.
“But we never made it about 'when are you back Ross?'. It was always about when he was right.
“He’s jumping around wanting to play now so that gives us options in how we load the team.
“Our back row is a real area of strength. But Ross gives us real clarity over collisions, whether that is with the ball or without it.
“Every player who plays international rugby will see a point in his game that is different to everyone else. Watching Ross, he sees coming together as a point of difference.
“We have got to get him back into our systems, but also bring him back as Ross and not trying to over structure him, so we will see how that goes. We are not in a rush to get everyone back in the side.”
Ryan will lead Dragons into his first Welsh derby and the Director of Dragons Rugby believes the region is in a good place ahead of the festive opener.
“We’ve always had a focus on trying to get the team into the right space to go into a run of derby games,” added Ryan.
“We’ve had the challenge of the World Cup and challenge of me not knowing everybody, plus people coming back from Japan and then integrating them in.
“We’re in probably as good a position as we could expect, given the injuries we've also had. We’ve had some good experiences together and we will give it our best shot over the next few weeks.”
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He’s jumping around wanting to play now so that gives us options in how we load the team...
