DRAGONS NEED TO FIRE AGAIN – OWEN

The Dragons are flying the flag for Wales in the Heineken Cup this season with successive wins, over Edinburgh Rugby and the 2003 finalists, and have the best chance of qualifying for the knock-out stages, something a Welsh team has managed in all nine previous seasons of the tournament.

Llanelli Scarlets and the Neath-Swansea Ospreys are both six points off the pace in their Pools while Cardiff Blues are 12 points adrift after a third straight defeat.

“We were delighted with both the win and our performance against Perpignan,” said Owen, the versatile 24-year-old who has played for Wales in both the second and back rows.
 
“We will take heart from playing so well while the five points keeps us right in there in a Pool where you have to earn any win – it is a tough group.”
 
Owen took over the captain’s armband at the weekend when Jason Forster was ruled out and is set to continue leading from the front at Stade Aime Giral.

“I have never played in Perpignan but quite a few of the former Celtic Warriors now with us have been there and say it is a big and quite intimidating stadium,” he said. “Perpignan are a fantastic side – anyone who reaches a Heineken Cup final must have class – and we will have to be at the top of our game if we are to win down there.
 
“We were really disappointed to lose our Round 1 match against Newcastle Falcons and it was obvious that we would then probably need to win the remaining five if we were to qualify for the quarter-finals.
 
“It is always tough playing in France but as long as we perform as well as we can and don’t let ourselves down we will be proud of ourselves.

“We have to try and make sure there is everything to play for when we go to Newcastle in Round 6 because we really feel we are capable of qualifying for the last eight.”

While Wales have always had an active interest in at least the quarter-finals, Owen believes that European club rugby’s premier competition is now so competitive that only a few points can make all the difference and that things could have been so different for all the regions.

“The Heineken Cup is such a high level competition that there is virtually nothing between the majority of the sides,” he said. “There is such a fine line between success and failure – a point here, a point there – that it could so easily have been a very different picture.

“The Scarlets almost beat Toulouse; the Ospreys almost beat Munster and last weekend the Blues pushed Gloucester all the way. In each case there was only one score in it and that shows how tight the Heineken Cup can be.”