Sam Davies says the resurgent Dragons would love to be the first Welsh team to claim a victory out in South Africa in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
The four regions lost all eight games in the Rainbow Nation during last season’s inaugural Vodacom URC campaign and they now head out there en masse at the end of November for back-to-back fixtures.
For the Dragons, that means matches against the Lions in Johannesburg and the Stormers in Cape Town.
They will make the trip in good spirits having already recorded more league victories in their opening seven matches than they did all last season. Their 47-7 demolition of Zebre at Rodney Parade was their third triumph so far this term, following up home successes against Munster and the Ospreys. So could they break the Welsh duck when they travel to South Africa?
“We are in the best possible place to do so,” declared fly-half Davies. “It is a tough place to go, no Welsh region has gone out there and won yet. We would love to be the first team to do that.
“It’s going to be hard work and we understand that. But, for us, it’s just about making sure we get better week on week. It’s been a good first block, but we can’t rest now. It’s about backing it up. There’s still a large part of the season to go.”
The Dragons’ rise has come under the tutelage of head coach Dai Flanagan who joined from the Scarlets in the summer. “Dai has just given us a bit more freedom,” explained Davies. “He has come in and got his attacking philosophy going with us. He understands what this group needs and that’s what is getting the most out of us at the moment.
“You will see us playing some good rugby, but most of the time it’s in the right areas of the field. Our set-piece is streets ahead of where it was last year and that gives us a foundation to play off and that’s massive in rugby.
“You look at our lineout drive, we are stealing opposition ball, we are getting penalties off our scrum. We are starting to change the perception of referees and that’s credit to our forward pack, giving us the platform to play off. We are also taking our opportunities a lot more now.
“We have got boys stepping up and performing when our internationals are away. There’s depth building here, which is massive for us. It’s a privilege to be part of such a good group.”
