However, The Dragons are hopeful that Kevin Morgan and Steve Jones will be released by Wales in time to join the squad who travel to Ireland on Saturday. The Dragons also heard the unfortunate news this week that No.8 Richard Bryan is likely to be out for the rest of the season following a knee injury sustained against Edinburgh.
Richard had a scan on his knee on Tuesday that showed damage to his anterior cruciate ligament. Richard will undergo an operation to reconstruct the ligament before starting intensive rehabilitation.
It is estimated that Richard could be out for between six to seven months, which is a blow for Dragons as he has started all The Dragons matches so far this season.
The Dragons have named an unchanged back line for the match against Connacht and the only change in the pack sees Rhys Oakley come in for the injured Bryan. The Dragons replacements will be confirmed before kick off once the availability of the Welsh players becomes apparent.
“This has been a difficult month for not only The Dragons but for the other regions,” commented Anderson. “Autumn internationals and injuries have stretched us this week and we had the unfortunate news on Richard Bryan which is a blow as he has been playing well. We have also lost Kevin Morgan to Wales.
“We travel to Galway for what is going to be a really tough match against Connacht. Connacht are in confident mood having claimed the scalps already this season of the Scarlets and last weekend the Ospreys.
“Playing them at home will be an altogether different challenge. They are a very direct side and are playing some good rugby at the moment. They have strong centres and also a very powerful pack. We will need to gain parity in this area if we are to stand a chance and pose them problems on Sunday.
“Their defence is strong and they work together as a team and play for each other. At times they have been written off by others however, we will not be taking them lightly, they have our full respect and we have to play a lot better than we have been in recent weeks if we are to claim the four points.”
Lock Ian Gough has been one of The Dragons outstanding players of late and is eagerly awaiting the match against Connacht on the weekend, “None of us underestimate Connacht especially after their display against the Ospreys last weekend. We have not been playing anywhere near our potential of late and the whole squad knows that. We let ourselves down, The Dragons team and supporters against Edinburgh.
“The defeat served as a sharp wake up call and we have worked hard in training this week to address the aspects of play, which so badly let us down last Friday. We want to set the record straight and aim to achieve the levels of play that we know we can obtain.”
Dragons Team:
Kevin Morgan, Gareth Wyatt, Steve Winn, Sione Tuipulotu, Nathan Brew, Craig Warlow, Gareth Baber, Rod Snow, James Richards, Chris Anthony, Ian Gough, Peter Sidoli, Jamie Ringer, Jason Forster (c), Rhys Oakley
Replacements From:
Steve Jones, Kieran Crawford, Adam Black, Rhys Thomas, Ross Beattie, Jon Bryant, Ben Breeze, AN Other
