Newport Gwent Dragons braced for fiery Munster effort

Newport Gwent Dragons director of rugby Lyn Jones expects to be on the end of a red-hot reaction from Munster.

While Anthony Foley’s men suffered a rare Thomond Park defeat to Connacht, the Dragons themselves were on the end of a Murrayfield mauling against Edinburgh — as four yellow cards condemned the Welsh side to a 32-13 defeat.

Munster have not lost back-to-back league games since the end of the 2013-14 season, and Jones has been busy strengthening the Rodney Parade defences in preparation for the wounded Irishmen.

He said: “Munster is a huge test for any side in Europe especially after suffering a home defeat against a local rival in Connacht.

“We’re expecting a kick-back from Munster, and I expect one from ourselves too which I’m sure will make for a breathtaking first 20 minutes.

“The turnaround this week has been positive and we’re desperate to show that we are better than that display.”

The side from East Wales are floundering in ninth position in the PRO12 having failed to beat any non-Italian opposition. Munster’s defeat by Connacht may have been damaging, but it was only their second of the season as they sit just four points off the top of the table. Foley’s charges are set to be without a host of front-line troops with BJ Botha, Francis Saili, Donnacha Ryan, Andrew Conway and Conor Murray all missing out.

Another glaring absentee this season is the legendary Paul O’Connell, but Jones reckons the Munster machine has kept chugging along without one of their key cogs.

He said: “Munster post Paul O’Connell are still what you expect them to be, they haven’t changed their plan. They still have a very good kicking game and a very good mauling game and their defence is very committed. They make very few errors in defence. When you play Munster you can’t rely on errors to get into the game, you have to create and build your own pressure, that’s the challenge for us. We played them last year, dominated the first-half and went in 9-7 ahead at half-time and then they kicked the corners, applied pressure and made it very difficult for us. We’ve learnt from that.”

Wales and Lions star Taulupe Faletau is rated at 50/50 after injury, while skipper Rhys Thomas is fit for his second game of the season after a lack of leadership saw them turn in a shoddy display last week. Wales youngsters Hallam Amos, Tyler Morgan and Jack Dixon are still sidelined, but Jones is relieved to at least have some senior players at his disposal.

He said: “Rhys Thomas is coming in for his second start of the season, it’s a big relief for us. He was named captain for his leadership and maturity, and we’ve missed those qualities in our side dreadfully. We’re pretty confident Toby will start but we’ll leave it until Saturday morning.”