Scrum half Rhodri Williams admits Dragons are looking forward to getting back on home soil as they look to back-up the emphatic away day success at Zebre.
Dean Ryan’s men ended the long wait for an away win in the Guinness PRO14 as they blizted 14-man Zebre 52-28 in Parma on Saturday evening.
Dragons now head to Rodney Parade for a first home league outing as Connacht Rugby arrive under the lights in Newport on Friday night (kick-off 7.35pm).
And Williams – who has captained the team for the first two rounds – is eager to build on the performance in Italy back in front of the passionate Dragons fans.
“It is nice to get rid of the away record and get it done early on the season. It’s not something to focus on anymore,” he said.
“Now it’s important we look to back this win up on home soil. It’s a big game with Connacht and we’re all looking forward to going back home in front of our fans.”
Williams was a first half try scorer at Stadio Lanfranchi, but insisted there was plenty of room for improvement in the next game.
“It was difficult game and we went 14-0 down early on so credit to Zebre for the way they started,” he said.
“We stuck to our game plan and ground them down. We kept the belief, even at 21-14 down at the break, and that was the message at half-time.
“We were clinical in the second half and it helps when Jordan (Williams) is scoring tries out of this world. “I was particularly pleased with the team tries, when we stayed patient and wore them down.
“The red card was a turning point, but we still had to produce a performance and I was pleased with the way we handled it in the second half.
“We were disappointed to let them in at the end and give them the bonus point.
“It wasn’t perfect, there were plenty of mistakes, and we’ve got a short week now to look at those errors and learn from them.”
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It is nice to get rid of the away record and get it done early on the season. It’s not something to focus on anymore...
