By Graham Thomas
Rhodri Williams has backed Dai Flanagan’s warts-and-all truthfulness as the Dragons bid to get their season back on track.
Scrum-half Williams reckons it is a time for honesty at Rodney Parade after six straight defeats in the United Rugby Championship, dating back to November.
The resolve of a team going through tough times will be tested to its utmost on Saturday night, when the Dragons are in Dublin to face mighty, unbeaten, 13 straight wins URC leaders Leinster in a match that is live on S4C.
Home truths have been a feature of Flanagan’s analysis of recent performances, but Williams is quick to stress that frank talking has been welcomed in the dressing room and responsibility is shared by all.
“We have absolutely needed honest conversations with ourselves and that’s what we have had,” says the No.9.
“I have had honest conversations with Dai myself and that has been respected. He’s straight with everyone. If you start telling different things to different people – or beating around the bush – then you get caught out.
🐉 𝙏𝙀𝘼𝙈 | Here are your Dragons to take on @Leinsterrugby at the RDS Arena tomorrow night, 7:35pm KO! 👊⤵️
5️⃣ Changes to starting xv
🔙 O'Brien & Moriarty return
🏴 U20s captain Woodman amongst the replacements
💪 Reed, Hughes & Fry all start#WeAreGwentRugby #LEIvDRA pic.twitter.com/KDZDSOs3Cf— Dragons RFC 🐉 (@dragonsrfc) February 17, 2023
“When things aren’t right in a playing group you have to be honest about that and work on those things.
“The way the season is structured at the moment, it has given us time to reflect. There are things in our game that we need to put right and we will need to do that against Leinster.”
Last time out, at the end of January, the Dragons shipped 42 points in defeat to Glasgow and it was 30 points at home against the Lions in the last round of the European Challenge Cup.
Williams knows that any talk of a revival under Flanagan counts for little if the results are not backing that up and with six matches to go – only one of which is at home – a strong finish is imperative for the feel-good factor of the coach’s appointment to be maintained.
“We are disappointed as a group with recent results, but it is not all doom and gloom,” adds the 29-year-old Williams, who will captain a side boosted by the return from injury of Ross Moriarty.
“We should have won more games, but we have patches where we teams go 14-0 or even 21-0 ahead early on.
“We need to start delivering 80-minute performances and the results will change.
“I see a different attitude under Dai and I believe there is genuine quality in this squad, but it’s no good showing it just in glimpses.”
📥𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦!
Here is the #LeinsterRugby team to face @dragonsrugby tomorrow evening in the RDS Arena#BKTURC #LEIvDRA pic.twitter.com/TkNk1ItzdA
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) February 17, 2023
Williams has never beaten Leinster in a Dragons shirt, although he did enjoy a victory over the European heavyweights back in 2015 as a replacement when he was with the Scarlets.
Even though they are stripped of their Irish international contingent, it normally fails to cause even a hic-cup in the green machine and this time they have been strengthened by the release of three current internationals from Andy Farrell’s squad – Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour and Jamie Osborne.
Like the other three regions, the Dragons have not been boosted by anyone coming back from Warren Gatland’s Wales squad a week before the England game and Williams is under no illusions of the task ahead of his side at the RDS Arena.
“Leinster are the best and even though they have lost lots of international players, they don’t seem to lose any quality.
“They lose players and the next guy comes in, fits rights in, and the whole teams functions pretty much as it did before.
Rhodri Williams with the 'fucking HELL' moment of the weekend in the Dragons' loss to Zebre https://t.co/HM5jhzAZrQ
— Josh Gardner (@joshgardner) March 2, 2021
“It comes down to how well structed they are. They lose individuals, but they never seem to lose that structure. It’s the same old Leinster.
“I’ve played Leinster before when you look at their team sheet, you think they might be disrupted. When you get on the field, you realise they’re not.
“It’s going to be a massive test for us. But we are excited as a group to have this huge challenge.”
S4C – Saturday, 7.30pm – Clwb Rygbi: Leinster v Dragons
Live coverage from the RDS Arena in Dublin of the BKT United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Dragons. English commentary available.