The East Wales region host a fiery last-eight derby against the Cardiff Blues on Saturday. The Rodney Parade clash is the first all-Welsh knockout meeting in 15 years. And with a semi-final spot against either London Irish or Edinburgh on the line, Faletau has urged his side to keep their cool, and let their rugby do the talking.
He said: “You have to keep calm in these derbies. We’ve got a lot of talent out wide and they just play what’s in-front of them at the moment. So we need to be calm, get it to them and they’ll chuck it around when it needs to be chucked around. It’s nice knowing they are outside us and they can make things happen.
“It’s nice to keep the momentum from the Six Nations going with a big game for the Dragons. The boys had smiles on their faces in training today and that’s the difference.Everyone is looking forward to the game on Saturday now.”
The British & Irish Lions ace faces a back-row battle against national captain Sam Warburton, who is set to return for the Blues with fellow Wales star gothic Jenkins. The Dragons’ injury problems have also been eased, with the main selection headaches coming at lock and centre.
Saturdays victor will line-up an away trip to either London Irish or Edinburgh Rugby, who meet at the Madjeski Stadium on Sunday. And Faletau is desperate to get through in what is his biggest match for his home region.
He said: “It’s definitely the biggest game I’ve been involved in in all my time at the Dragons. I’ve never played in a quarter-final for the region before so this is the biggest game I’ve played for the team. We got a good result over the weekend and before that we were putting together some good away wins, and wins at home.”
