Premier Sports will open the big weekend for rugby supporters with live coverage on Friday night (February 5) as Dragons host Connacht in the Guinness PRO14 with both sides fielding strong teams as they chase down crucial points in the race for final positions in the competition and European qualification.
All the action starts at 7pm live from Rodney Parade with an experienced Premier Sports team on hand to guide fans through the game and pick out key talking points as excitement builds on the eve of the start of the Guinness Six Nations.
Premier Sports will be showing the rescheduled Round 5 Guinness PRO14 fixture as follows:
Friday 5th Feb Dragons v Connacht: Premier Sports 1 from 7pm with Ross Harries, Tom Shanklin, Andrew Coombs, Lauren Jenkins and Wyn Gruffydd
The Dragons haven’t played since January 9th when they narrowly lost out to the Ospreys in an intense Welsh derby.
Their resumption to rugby back at home at Rodney Parade brings a welcome return for some key players including exciting full back Jordan Williams and Jack Dixon alongside Jamie Roberts in the centre with captain Rhodri Williams and Sam Davies back in combination at half back. Former British & Irish Lions and Wales hooker Richard Hibbard makes his 50th appearance for Dragons.
The Dragons will now face five home games out of seven PRO14 league dates in February and March.
Both teams are without four internationals each on Six Nations duty - but there’s plenty of experience and talent throughout both sides with Connacht’s Irish internationals prop Finlay Bealham and fly-half Jack Carty both achieving their 150th appearances for the province on Friday night. 50th caps go to Gavin Thornbury and Paul Boyle who captains the visiting team.
Connacht have won their last three away games in a row in the PRO14 and hold the upper hand against their Welsh opponents having won both of their last two meetings.
The Dragons will be looking to reinstate some home form having won only once at Rodney Parade in any competition for close to a year after they beat Zebre 26-18 in October.
Former 70 cap Welsh international and Cardiff Blues centre Tom Shanklin is part of the Premier Sports team:
He said: “The Dragons have picked a strong team and it’s great to see the likes of Jordan Williams and Sam Davies back - but they are going to need a strong team as Connacht on the flip side also picked a pretty strong line-up, so it shows how important the win is for both teams.
“The Dragons have had a tough season with the Covid-19 disruptions and I think the Ospreys game sums it up for them - there were some moments of brilliance, alongside some lapses. They just need to bring more consistency.
“I hope we’re in for an open game. You’ve got exciting talents like Ashton Hewitt, Jordan Williams, Owen Jenkins for the Dragons and if they get the ball in the right areas it’s a great opportunity for them to showcase what they can do tonight.
“Connacht have John Porch, Matt Healey and others and with some decent conditions we have two strong teams that want to play rugby. Connacht want to attack and they’ve had eight tries from their own half this season, so Dragons can’t kick loosely as Connacht have some great counter attackers.
“We saw how good Jamie Roberts was for the Dragons against the Ospreys in a game they should have won and I am sure he will have a point to prove to the Welsh selectors in a big game for the Dragons.”
On the big home opener for Wales against Ireland on Sunday in the Guinness Six Nations, Tom Shanklin, who scored 20 tries in the Wales jersey believes home advantage will give Wales a boost even without crowds.
He said: “I think Wales will do it, it will be tough and a really tight game but having a home advantage does count and walking into a stadium you are used to with the comforts of knowing what to expect.
“It’s different with no crowds of course, but there’s still all the pressure and hype and these fixtures hold such clout. The players are much more accustomed to playing without supporters there, but it will be strange not seeing the daffodils, leeks and hearing the Welsh hymns. It is still very special that we have live sport at the moment and we should be grateful to the teams, players, coaches and support staff that are making these sacrifices so that we can enjoy live rugby games at home on TV.”
Guinness PRO14’s host broadcaster Premier Sports continues to show all the competition’s remaining rescheduled games live including Dragons v Edinburgh on Friday February 12th (Premier Sports 1 from 7pm) and Glasgow Warriors v Benetton on Saturday February 13th (Premier Sports 2 from 2pm).
Premier Sports will continue its coverage of the final stages of PRO14 with all 29 fixtures from rounds 12 to 16 to conclude the PRO14 pool stages ahead of the Final.
Every game will be live on Premier Sports’ channels including the showcase Final on Saturday March 27th where the winners of Conference A will meet the winners of Conference B.
And the excitement doesn’t stop there. Premier Sports’ rugby coverage will continue in April with the exciting arrival of the new Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup as four South African ‘Super’ teams; the Vodacom Bulls, Emirates Lions, Cell C Sharks and DHL Stormers, join the 12 PRO14 clubs in a new 16 club competition running from April 17th until June 19th.
Premier Sports will be broadcasting every one of the 57 matches live in this ground-breaking new competition as the best Springbok talent faces some of the British and Irish Lions biggest stars.
Dragons have picked a strong team and it’s great to see the likes of Jordan Williams and Sam Davies back...
