Williams milestone as Cummins nears debut

Scrum half Rhodri Williams makes his 150th appearance in the BKT United Rugby Championship as Dragons RFC tackle Benetton Rugby at Rodney Parade on Saturday evening (kick-off 7.35pm).

Williams hits the major milestone as Head Coach Dai Flangan makes two changes to the side that were narrowly beaten by Lions on home soil last weekend.

Jared Rosser, a late withdrawal last weekend, returns on the wing and there is also a call-up for Ryan Woodman into the back row to play alongside Harri Keddie and Taine Basham. Shane Lewis-Hughes moves to the second row for the home fixture.

Summer signing Steve Cummins could make his official debut after being named among the replacements. Centre Steff Hughes will could also play at Rodney Parade for one more time before his departure to MLR after being named on the bench.

Head Coach Flanagan said: “We’re looking forward to the game and trying to finish this run of home games with a positive performance and result.

“Process-wise we were extremely good for three games and that's why it was disappointing that we weren't there against the Lions last weekend.

“We are disappointed, but our performances are tracking the right way, and each player's development is tracking the right way.

“We must stick at what we believe in and must keep pushing harder and harder.

“Benetton are an international team,” he added. “They are like the South African teams we have played in that they are big and strong, but they also have quite a bit of star quality.

“We know what is coming but it's about us, and they are at Rodney Parade. This is our last home game for six weeks so we have to make sure we give our fans something to remember.”

Dragons RFC: Angus O’Brien, Rio Dyer, Joe Westwood, Aneurin Owen, Jared Rosser, Lloyd Evans, Rhodri Williams; Rodrigo Martinez, Brodie Coghlan, Leon Brown, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Ben Carter (c), Ryan Woodman, Harri Keddie, Taine Basham

Replacements: Oli Burrows, Cameron Jones, Chris Coleman, Steve Cummins, Dan Lydiate, Dane Blacker, Steff Hughes, Ewan Rosser

Unavailable (15): Harri Ackerman (leg), Dmitri Arhip (knee), Oli Andrew (hamstring), James Benjamin (knock), Elliot Dee (ankle), Solomone Funaki (knee), Ollie Griffiths (unavailable), Ashton Hewitt (knee), Rhodri Jones (knee), Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths (ankle), George Nott (shoulder), Josh Reynolds (leg), Matthew Screech (knock), Aaron Wainwright (hamstring), Jordan Williams (ankle)