Lock Matthew Screech admits the Dragons pack have taken their power game criticism personally and will relish the challenge this weekend against a strong Munster side.
Boss Dean Ryan admitted his team were ‘outgunned’ by Ulster’s in a 40-17 loss at the Kingspan Stadium last weekend and has called for a reaction.
And second row Screech believes Munster will be a similar proposition at Rodney Parade on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 2pm).
“Munster are a power team, they come at you with their forwards and their driving maul, it’s there to see, there isn’t any secrets there,” he said.
“It is quite personal when Dean and people are perceiving or saying we need to up our power game. As a pack it is personal and we need to take those challenges on and really relish it - which I am sure we will.”
The 28-year-old is set to make his 150th appearance for the Men of Gwent against the Irish province and has been a mainstay in the Dragons squad since making his debut in 2013.
And, looking ahead to the Munster match, the Church Village-born acee believes that it is consistency that is crucial as Dragons look to put right the wrongs from last week’s trip to Belfast.
“Against Zebre, I felt like we were way above dominant in that game, our driving maul was good, our scrum was good, and we were getting penalties,” said Screech.
“It’s more of a consistency thing, We had such a great performance against Zebre, which is always a physical game, but then not implementing that against Ulster really hurt.
“I feel like we have made great strides under Dean, but when we have performances like that against Ulster, it negates all the good that we have done,” he continued.
“When we get that perception of having a poor power game you do take it personally, but we need to be more consistent as a forward pack going forward.”
We had such a great performance against Zebre, which is always a physical game, but then not implementing that against Ulster really hurt...
