Preview: Clermont v The Dragons
Newport Gwent Dragons have made three changes for their European Challenge Cup semi-final game against Clermont at Parc des Sports Marcel-Michelin on Saturday.
Captain Kevin Morgan has fully recovered from his knee strain to take his place at full-back while the other changes are among the forwards.
Prop Rhys Thomas makes his first start for the region since October having recovered from his chest injury and came through The Dragons’ Magners League game against Leinster last weekend.
The other change sees Joe Bearman replace the injured Colin Charvis in the back row.
Charvis’ absence is a huge one for The Dragons as he has been one of the most consistent performers over the season. The Dragons do, however, have plenty of cover in the back row with Bearman fit after recovering from his hip injury and have Welsh internationals Michael Owen and Jamie Ringer available as well as Nic Fitisemanu.
“We are delighted to have made the latter stages of the Challenge Cup competition, and it shows how far we have come this season,” said the Dragons coach Paul Turner.
Clermont, who edged out Newcastle to reach the last four, are France’s solitary European survivors this season after Stade Francais and Biarritz both made Heineken Cup quarter-final exits.
“To reach the final would be fantastic, but we have to beat Clermont on their home patch, which is a massive test for us,” said Dragons prop, Adam Black.
“They are playing some superb rugby at the moment. They are flying high in the Top 14 (French) Championship and they want to win this competition.
“We know it will be tough in France, and we are expecting a fierce battle, but we know that if we click then we are more than capable of beating anyone on our day.”
Clermont Auvergne are the only French team remaining in European competition and so fly the flag for the Six Nations champions.
The Dragons have participated without success in each Heineken Cup since then, but failed to qualify for this season’s Heineken Cup following a play-off loss to Overmach Parma at the end of last season.
But every cloud has a sliver lining and now the Dragons have their sights set on their first piece of silverware.
Their opponents will be desperate for a win for a different reason. They raised the European Challenge Cup in 1999, defeating Bourgoin 35-16 in front of over 30,000 fans at the Stade Gerland in Lyon.
One player who will be making The Dragons dream final a nightmare will be Clermont’s point scoring machine Brock James. The Australian is the top points scorer in the Top 14 and will be looking to cause more havoc on Saturday.
The French side also boasts a heap of internationals in their line-up, as well as on the bench.
French international like Aurelien Rougerie, Tony Marsh and Elvis Vermeulen will send shivers down any team’s spine, while Alessandro Troncon has been in the best form of his career for Italy.
Vilimoni Delasau of Fiji, Grant Esterhuizen of South Africa, Mario Ledesma of Argentina and Jamie Cudmore of Canada all carry international caps under their belt.
Form: The Dragons boast a 100 per cent record this season against French opposition having beaten Bayonne both home and away in the pool stages of the competition and Brive in the quarter-finals of the competition.
The teams:
Clermont Auvergne: 15 Alexandre Peclier, 14 Aurelien Rougerie (c), 13 Grant Esterhuizen, 12 Tony Marsh, 11 Vilimoni Delasau, 10 Brock James, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 8 Gonzalo Longo, 7 Emmanuel Etien, 6 Michel Dieude, 5 Thibaut Privat, 4 David Barrier, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Brice Miguel, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements: 16 Mario Ledesma, 17 Martin Scelzo, 18 Jamie Cudmore, 19 Elvis Vermeulen, 20 Pierre Mignoni, 21 Raphael Chanal, 22 Anthony Floch
The Dragons: 15 Kevin Morgan, 14 Gareth Wyatt, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Nathan Brew, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Gareth Cooper, 8 Michael Owen, 7 Jamie Ringer, 6 Joe Bearman, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Steve Jones, 1 Adam Black
Replacements: 16 Ben Daly, 17 Jamie Corsi, 18 Andrew Hall, 19 Nic Fitisemanu, 20 Alex Walker, 21 Aled Thomas, 22 Phil Dollman
Date: Saturday 21 April
Venue: Parc des Sports Marcel-Michelin
Kick-off: 13:30pm (11:30am GMT)
Referee: David Pearson (England)
