Returning Welsh international Taine Basham has promised an onslaught this weekend when his Dragons side host the Emirates Lions at Rodney Parade on Sunday afternoon.
The Dragons, who finished last in the 2023/4 season, have looked remarkably better this year and were unlucky not to beat the Hollywoodbets Sharks in their last game on Saturday night, going down to a late try after the whistle.
Basham, who returned from injury last weekend, is relishing the chance to be out on the park and facing a Lions team that was in rampant form against Edinburgh at home last weekend.
“It’s great to be back fit and get my first 80 of the season, having missed pre-season games,” he stated.
“It is a big period for us with three back-to-back home games. We have some physical teams coming and we went toe-to-toe with Sharks at the end.
“We have a very good Lions team touring and then Benetton the week after. We need to stay in the moment, make the right decisions. That is the difference between winning and losing.
Basham said the Lions should be ready for a fight, and hinted on the desperation in the home camp to get the win.
“Everyone knows when they come to Rodney Parade they are up for a fight but it is then small moments when we need to stay composed, myself included, to get home wins.”
He said those small moments cost them against the Sharks and the team wanted to correct it this week against the Lions.
“We pride ourselves on Rodney Parade not being an easy day for anyone who comes here, it is never a walk in the park,” he said.
“We always put the effort in at Dragons, we spoke in the week about fighting on the line and we did that. Sadly, we conceded at the end, but I can’t fault the effort.
“It’s narrow margins. We can’t dwell on it. We need to look at the next job, but also learn because you’ll never get better if you don’t.
“That felt like a step forward from last week (against Leinster) and we can get better.”