COOPER BACK FOR DRAGONS

Cooper underwent an ankle operation over the summer and will make his first full start for the Region on Friday after appearing as a replacement in the Dragons Powergen Cup match against Northampton last Saturday.

“I am chomping at the bit to play,” commented Gareth Cooper. “I am happy to have the chance to play especially with Gareth Baber playing well. I knew I would have a fight on my hands to regain a place in the starting line up. However, now I have an opportunity I aim to take it with both hands and I cannot wait to get back onto the field and play again for The Dragons.”

Head Coach Paul Tuner has made seven changes to the team from last weekend and apart from changes at fullback and scrum half has selected the same team that defeated Leicester a fortnight ago at Rodney Parade.

Leigh Hinton comes in at full back from Sione Tuipulotu while Ceri Sweeney moves back to inside centre where he proved very effective against the Leicester Tigers. Craig Warlow comes in at fly half while Welsh international Cooper starts at scrum half.

There are three changes in the forwards Adam Black replaces David Maddocks, Ian Gough comes in for Peter Sidoli while Andrew Hall gets his fourth start of the season.

Looking ahead to the game Paul Turner commented, “We have another tough game this weekend against Edinburgh who have been doing well in the Celtic League and are currently in third position. We have performed well in the League but unfortunately results have eluded us. We aim to put this right on Friday night.”

The Dragons have been boosted by the news that hooker Steve Jones has recovered from a knee injury to take his place on the replacements bench.

Dragons Team

Leigh Hinton, Gareth Wyatt, Hal Luscombe, Ceri Sweeney, Ben Breeze, Craig Warlow, Gareth Cooper, Adam Black, Andrew Brown, Rhys Thomas, Ian Gough, Luke Charteris, Andrew Hall, Jason Forster (c), Michael Owen.

Replacements

Steve Jones, David Maddocks, Peter Sidoli, Richard Bryan, Jamie Ringer, Sione Tuipulotu, Gareth Baber