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Benjamin captains Dragons in Russia

21/11/2019

Back row James Benjamin will captain Dragons in the European Challenge Cup clash with Russian outfit Enisei-STM on Friday (kick-off 3pm UK time).

Prop Lloyd Fairbrother, hooker Ellis Shipp, fly half Arwel Robson, scrum half Tavis Knoyle and back row Ben Fry also make their first starts of the season at the Kuban Stadium in Krasnodar.

Dean Ryan, Director of Dragons Rugby, makes a total of seven changes for the fixture in southern Russia.

A new-look half back pairing will see Knoyle and Robson combine while the other change in the back line is a recall for full back Jordan Williams. Will Talbot-Davies moves to the wing.

Fairbrother and Shipp pack down alongside Aaron Jarvis up front while lock Matthew Screech returns in the engine room alongside Max Williams.

Fry, a second half replacement in the victory over Castres at Rodney Parade last weekend, also starts the European clash in the six jersey.

Taine Basham, fresh from his call-up by Wales for the Barbarians game later this month, is named at Number Eight.

Prop duo Josh Reynolds and Chris Coleman are named among the replacements alongside centre Connor Edwards.

Ryan said: “We have made changes and have always been open with the group that this spell is a mix of us wanting to win games and also create opportunities.

“I am still pretty new at this club and there are still people I have only seen for 30 minutes of rugby.

“I want to create a balance between giving opportunities but also winning games, we don’t want to go to a situation with 15 changes and like a new side.

“It’s important that we look to build so that we can go into Zebre and Worcester with real momentum.”

Supporters can watch the live stream of the match on EPCR TV tomorrow. Select EPCR TV to register for FREE on http://ChallengeCupRugby.com to start the stream. Game link will be posted on social media channels tomorrow 

Dragons: Jordan Williams, Dafydd Howells, Tyler Morgan, Tom Griffiths, Will Talbot-Davies, Arwel Robson, Tavis Knoyle; Aaron Jarvis, Ellis Shipp, Lloyd Fairbrother, Matthew Screech, Max Williams, Ben Fry, James Benjamin (c), Taine Basham

Replacements: Rhys Lawrence, Josh Reynolds, Chris Coleman, Joe Davies, Huw Taylor, Luke Baldwin, Jacob Botica, Connor Edwards

Enisei-STM: Nikita Churashov, Davit Meskhi, Hendrik Marais, Dmitrii Gerasimov, Bjorn Basson, Ramil Gaisin, Alexey Shcherban; Nika Khatiashvili, Stanislav Selskii, Innokentiy Zykov, Uldis Saulite, Leighton Eksteen, Mikheil Gachechiladze, Andrey Temnov, Jeremy Jordaan

Replacements: Shamil Magomedov, Ewald Westhuizen, Azat Musin, James Brown, Aleksandr Budychenko, Konstantin Uzunov, Earll Douwrie, Maxim Gargalic

It’s important that we look to build so that we can go into Zebre and Worcester with real momentum...
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