Centre Adam Warren is hoping to avoid a painful return to Glasgow – as Dragons look to hit the ground running this weekend.
Dragons are back in PRO14 action for the first time since January 4 – after last week’s game with Benetton Rugby was postponed – when they face the Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 7.35pm).
And key performer Warren is eager for it will be a successful return for Dean Ryan’s men.
Dragons have not won north of the border since November 2013 and last season lost 29-13 after a battling show – a game memorable for Warren after he scored a try but suffered a burn to the face in the process.
However, after Dragons beat Glasgow 18-5 in Newport in Round 4 there are reasons to be positive for Warren as the team chase a first league double over the Scotsmen since 2013/14.
“It was a decent game last year and we played well. But obviously for me it did hurt scoring that try – it is just part of rugby,” said Warren.
“I burnt a bit of skin scoring because I had one of their players on top of me as I went over. Thankfully it cleared up quickly - I wasn’t the nicest looking.
“We’ve come on a lot this season. We already have one big win against Zebre away and that was something we spoke about,” he added.
”We definitely feel more confident as a group now, whether we play at home or away, and we have taken steps in the right direction.
“We’ve got to put in a good performance in Glasgow now and stop them playing the way they went to play.”
Glasgow Warriors boosted their hopes of reaching the Guinness PRO14 quarter-finals with an eight-try 56-24 victory over Zebre at Scotstoun Stadium last weekend.
And Warren admits Dragons will need to get up to pace quickly after the postponement last weekend.
“Having the break is not ideal when you get an extra week because of the game being postponed, so we need to come out of the blocks and not be off the pace,” he said.
“Glasgow had a good win against Zebre and at home they will come our firing. We can’t be left behind.
“If we can get a good start and stay in the game then we give ourselves the best chance.
“We know Glasgow like to play a high offloading and high tempo game. They have a few individuals who are brilliant at it.
“We know how important defence will be in those areas and we can’t let them add tempo to the game when they have the ball.
“They come off the line hard in defence too so we have to find our own ways of exploiting that.”
Reflecting on the season to date, Warren is full of praise for the way in which boss Dean Ryan has changed the way of thinking at the region.
“He (Dean) has changed the environment a lot and is clever with how we review games,” revealed Warren.
“We don’t come away from games and see them as anything other than learning – whether we win or lose.
“A good example was against Castres at home in Europe. We had a bonus point win and he was very disappointed in our performance.
“In the past we would have never had that approach, we would have been happy to get the bonus point win.
“It just shows that he is big on processes and that game shook us up a little bit. But, as a group, we knew we weren’t good enough in many areas.
“In other games we’ve felt we have played quite well and not taken chances and coughed up opportunities.
“At Leinster away we had a six-minute spell when we gave them 21 points. Other than that, the game was not too bad.
“The way we review games and move on is building towards something and that is exciting.”
Watch the Dragons when they welcome their South African side Toyota Cheetahs to Rodney Parade on Saturday, February 29 (kick-off 5:15pm). Click HERE to buy your tickets and join us for more top Guinness PRO14 action.
We definitely feel more confident as a group now, whether we play at home or away, and we have taken steps in the right direction...
