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Wales stars return for Champions Cup

11/12/2020

Wales international back row Aaron Wainwright and centre Nick Tompkins return to the starting line-up as Dragons face Wasps in the Heineken Champions Cup on Saturday evening at Rodney Parade (kick-off 5.30pm).

Fellow internationals Elliot Dee, Leon Brown and Jonah Holmes are also named among the replacements as Dragons return to the top tier of European competition for the first time in almost a decade.

Director of Dragons Rugby, Dean Ryan, makes a total of five changes to the side that defeated Glasgow Warriors last weekend for the huge Round 1 encounter on home soil.

Star centre Tompkins is the only change in a back line that will see scrum half and captain Rhodri Williams make his 50th appearance for the region.

Two changes to the front row see hooker Richard Hibbard and Lloyd Fairbrother called up to pack down with Brok Harris.

Lock Joe Maksymiw is named in the second row alongside Ben Carter.

The final change is the call-up for Wainwright who slots into the blindside jersey, with Harrison Keddie moving to openside.

Exciting young prop Josh Reynolds is among the new faces on the bench and could make his first appearance of the season.

“We’re excited to start our Heineken Champions Cup campaign and we’re going to enjoy every second in the tournament,” said Ryan.

“The players are looking forward to playing at the highest level, testing themselves in the top tier and learning from every game. We’re going to give it everything.

“Wasps will welcome back their international players and they will make a huge difference for them,” he added.

“They’ve not had the start to the season they would have wanted in the English Premiership, but we expect to face a different side to what we’ve viewed in the last few weeks.

“We know we’ve got to play smart, reproduce the level of performance we have in recent weeks and take this opportunity to start the tournament with a positive display.”

Dragons (v Wasps): Josh Lewis, Jared Rosser, Nick Tompkins, Jamie Roberts, Ashton Hewitt, Sam Davies, Rhodri Williams (c); Brok Harris, Richard Hibbard, Lloyd Fairbrother, Ben Carter, Joe Maksymiw, Aaron Wainwright, Harrison Keddie, Ollie Griffiths

Replacements: Elliot Dee, Josh Reynolds, Leon Brown, Matthew Screech, Taine Basham, Tavis Knoyle, Jack Dixon, Jonah Holmes

We know we’ve got to play smart, reproduce the level of performance we have in recent weeks and take this opportunity to start the tournament with a positive display...
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