By James Dodd
Dean Ryan has told his Dragons team they must not let a back row crisis deflect them from the need to bounce back against Edinburgh on Friday night.
The Dragons, who are fifth in conference A, welcome the Scottish side to Newport with clear orders to make amends for their home defeat to Connacht last week.
“I think it’s important that we build on last week. I don’t think it’s any secret, I was pretty disappointed with how we came out on quite a long spell,” said Ryan.
“I think we got the balance wrong with the amount of returning players and I just don’t think we saw the best of ourselves.
“We’ve got to go again, we’ve got to learn, and we’ve got to lift our energy to get into this run of games and start making things turn our way.
“I would definitely want to see that variety in our attack, and also a bit of energy in our attack building into this week.”
The Welsh region are currently experiencing a crisis in availability, especially in the back row.
Harrison Keddie came off with concussion against Connacht, which added to the list of absentees alongside Taine Basham, Ollie Griffiths, Aaron Wainwright, and Ross Moriarty.
“We’re pretty low on numbers, I think that’s fairly obvious, certainly around some certain numbers,” said the 54-year-old coaching director.
“The back row is a real concern. I think we’ll be looking at how we create opportunities that we might be able to get somebody in.
“We’ll see over the next few days, but we are going to have to look at how we support that area and keep us moving.”
One position that is strong currently for the Dragons is tight-head prop.
Lloyd Fairbrother, who is currently at the top of the pecking order at No.3 three with Leon Brown on Wales duty, will make his 100th appearance in the league.
Ryan has been extremely impressed with his progress in the last 12 months.
“Over the last year, the most important thing is I’ve seen him get better. I think when we first came in, he wasn’t quite sure of how (he’d show) his best contributions.
“There was a lot of focus on Leon and I think what he’s done really well is just keep working away. I think he’s become a bit of a bedrock of our group.
“We all know what Leon can do when he comes back, but you also need two tight-heads, you need stability, and I think Lloyd’s really given us that. I’ve been really pleased with him.”
The 22-year-old Fairbrother moved to Wales from Exeter Chiefs in the summer of 2014.
Since then, he has enjoyed many highlights with the club.
“A few of the French (matches) in the Challenge Cup a few years ago, Stade Francais away, that sort of sticks to my mind, that was a brilliant game,” the Cornish player said.
“We always seem to do well with the French away. Obviously, the Christmas derbies are always brilliant.
“I remember my first home game for the Dragons against the Ospreys. I remember fireworks, you know, Rodney Parade absolutely packed. That was brilliant.
“There are a few games along the way. Good memories.”
The contest on Friday will also see Ryan go head-to-head with Englishman Richard Cockerill.
Ryan has been impressed with Cockerill’s coaching history and the improvement he has achieved at Edinburgh.
“Just the two of us in the stand should be interesting,” he joked.
“I have a lot of respect for Richard. I think he’s created great environments wherever he’s been and was successful at Leicester.
“I think he’s been really successful at building a base at Edinburgh, where they’ve gone on to qualify for some of the European knockout stages.
“I think now he’s looking at how that side evolves forward post-Covid and where he prioritises the players.
“You don’t last as long as he has in the game unless you’re a smart coach as well as a particularly well organised coach. I enjoy the contest.”
With Edinburgh looking to climb up conference B, the match will certainly have the attention of the Cardiff Blues and Scarlets, who currently sit above the Scots.
