Boss Dean Ryan has called on his senior players to step up and lead against Munster – after news that he will miss the Guinness PRO14 encounter at Rodney Parade on Sunday (kick-off 2pm).
Dragons confirmed on Friday that the region had returned one positive case for COVID-19 in the region’s management team.
Members of the wider management group, including Ryan, have now been identified as potential close contacts and are currently self-isolating.
Gordon Ross will be in charge for the Munster fixture and Ryan has vowed to let his Backs Coach lead and wants the senior paying group to also take the opportunity to impress.
"I won't be coaching from afar, there is nothing worse than trying to do a phone call when you don’t have the context of the game," said Ryan.
"I am definitely here for support and we will find a way, but I won't be in somebody's ear. It's really damaging for people to try and second guess what I might have done
. "It's a massive opportunity for the senior player group to take some responsibility,” he added.
"That's an area that we have talked about for a long time, about trying to reduce the dependency on what I might say.
"The game is not played by me, it's down to a series of decisions taken my senior players.
"It's one of those things that you would have loved to happen, just for it not to be created in this way! The opportunity is there for people to take more responsibility.
“It’s a great opportunity for Gordon in terms of his development and it's a great opportunity for Sam Davies, Rhodri Williams, Jamie Roberts, Ollie Griffiths.
“We talked about this before but now it's real, there are no safety nets. It does exaggerate the need for people to take more responsibility.”
Ryan has revealed how Dragons used the recent A game with Scarlets to test contingency plans. And he also praised Rugby General Manager James Chapron and Head of Medical, Ben Stirling, for the processes they have put in place.
"We had a game against the Scarlets where we deliberately mixed up everyone's role so that if anything happened we knew how we would cope,” said Ryan. “We didn't necessarily think that it would happen so quickly.”
"Having looked at everything we have done, the protocols in place have been successful. Some of the work that has gone on from Ben Stirling and James Chapron has been incredible.
“One of the challenges is travelling. We have seating plans that sit the management together and that the players are spaced apart so that if we do get a positive test then we reduce the amount of players that are impacted.
"In this case we have had a positive test within the management team and that has affected those in close contact.
"In some ways it has worked; we have limited impact on the team and therefore we can fulfil the fixture this weekend.”
I won't be coaching from afar, there is nothing worse than trying to do a phone call when you don’t have the context of the game...
