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Wyatt returns for Dragons

Wyatt returns for Dragons

Gareth Wyatt returns as the Dragons bid for revenge against London Irish in the Heineken Cup Pool 1 game at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 1.30pm).

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Wyatt features as a replacement and is back after suffering a shoulder injury against London Irish at Rodney Parade in Round 3 of the tournament, which ruled him out of selection for six weeks.

The Dragons look to bounce back from the 17- 45 defeat at Rodney Parade last time out, following a positive and determined start to the new year.


Wyatt said, “Injuring my shoulder against London Irish last time round was disappointing and I missed out on some great games over the Christmas period. The team have done really well lately and it’s encouraging to return to a confident and positive team environment.


“It won’t be an easy game on the weekend as London Irish showed at Rodney Parade what they can do, but our recent form allows us to be confident that we’re capable of playing some great rugby and getting a result.”


Grand Slam winning Wales captain Michael Owen replaces Colin Charvis as skipper for this weekend’s Heineken Cup game following an intense rugby period.


Head Coach Paul Turner added, “I am delighted with the effort of the squad over what was a great Christmas and New Year period for us. Yet physically it’s taken its toll on the squad and our current injury list highlights this.


“London Irish are a big and talented squad. They’re not setting the world alight in the Guinness Premiership at the moment but they’ve had a positive European run, one of their victories being at Rodney Parade.


“I was disappointed with the result in that game which could have been closer with a better Dragons performance. We need to address this away at the Madejski Stadium and use the momentum we have behind us to produce a good performance.”



London Irish: Peter Hewat; Topsy Ojo, Delon Armitage, Shane Geraghty, Sailosi Tagicakibau; Eoghan Hickey, Peter Richards; Clarke Dermody, David Paice, Tongo Lea’aetoa, Nick Kennedy, Bob Casey (Captain), Declan Danaher, Steffon Armitage, Richard Thorpe

Replacements: Dan Murphy, Danie Coetzee, James Hudson, Phil Murphy, Tomas De Vedia, Paul Hodgson, Gonzalo Tiesi


Dragons: Aled Thomas; Richard Mustoe, Paul Emerick, Ashley Smith, Richard Fussell; Ceri Sweeney, Wayne Evans; Adam Black, Ben Daly, Gethin Robinson, Andrew Hall, Peter Sidoli, Joe Bearman, James Harris, Michael Owen (Capt)

Replacements: Kieron Crawford, Huw Gustafson, Adam Jones, Lewis Evans, Alex Walker, Philip Dollman, Gareth Wyatt



Referee: Peter Allan (SRFU)

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