The Emirates Lions, who are currently SA’s top-ranked team in sixth place on the table will travel to Newport to face the Dragons RFC on Sunday at 15:30 (SA Time).
The Welsh club will not underestimate the Johannesburgers, who have scored 90 points in their two matches this season to the Dragons’ 59 in three matches and who have conceded 45 points less in their matches to date, which will set the scene for a gripping encounter.
The Emirates Lions have had the upper hand over the Dragons in the last few seasons, winning all three of their matches since 2022 – an impressive track record they would like to build on.
It’s been very mixed emotions for the Dragons at Rodney Parade so far this season. In their first home game, in Round 1, they claimed an 84th-minute try to beat the Ospreys amid scenes of wild celebration.
But then, last week, they conceded a score in the 85th minute to lose to the Sharks in heartbreaking fashion.
This is likely to be an exciting encounter. You can certainly expect the visitors from Johannesburg to throw it around a fair bit given the way they have started the URC season, running in 13 tries during bonus-point victories over Ulster and Edinburgh.
The Dragons are also looking to play, with Welsh international flanker Taine Basham one to watch with ball-in-hand, having beaten more defenders (10) than any other player in Round 3.
Dragons RFC Head Coach Dai Flanagan said: “The Lions are a very, very physical, and tough team, you can see that they are united and their coach Ivan van Rooyen has done a superb job.” “I enjoy watching them play because they pick up players who you have never heard of and make them into stars.
Speaking ahead of the Round 4 meeting at the Rodney Parade, Emirates Lions assistant coach Barend Pieterse says they are pleased with the momentum his team currently has going into this tour.
“We are really happy with where we are at the moment as a group. It’s always a nice feeling coming on tour with 10 points in the bag. We will however need to maintain that momentum as we really believe we can become a championship team.”
Pieterse further went on to say that picking up points on the road is key towards achieving success towards the end of the season.
“This is the tour we believe we can collect our points to make it easier towards the end of the season without relying on other teams to get us into a playoff position,” he concluded.
Teams:
Dragons RFC: 15 Angus O’Brien, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Joe Westwood, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Lloyd Evans, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Harri Keddie, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Ben Carter (c), 3 Leon Brown, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rodrigo Martinez. Replacements: 16 Oli Burrows, 17 Cameron Jones, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Ryan Woodman, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Will Reed, 23 Ewan Rosser.
Emirates Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Nico Steyn, 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Jarod Cairns, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Reinhard Nothnagel, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Juan Schoeman. Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Heiko Pohlmann, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Ruben Schoeman, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Henco van Wyk.