Jump to main content
Faletau raring to go following break

Faletau raring to go following break

Newport Gwent Dragons head coach Darren Edwards reckons Toby Faletau’s summer tour-ending injury could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Share this page:

Faletau was forced home from Australia early after breaking a bone in his hand during the first Test defeat.

But, following long and hard season, Edwards reckons the the No.8 will reap the rewards of having an extended break.
“I certainly think the break might work to his advantage,” said Edwards.

“You don’t realise that Toby is still a very young guy. It has been a whirlwind 18 months for him.

“He might not necessarily have needed the physical break, because he’s a great athlete. It’s the mental side of things as much as anything.”

Faletau and Wales teammate Dan Lydiate returned to action in the Dragons pre-season victory over London Irish last Friday and Edwards was pleased with what he saw.

“I gave him and Dan a longer break than was needed.

“I asked them to perform for me last Friday night and put their markers down and the two of them were outstanding.

“So they are back meaning business for this season, which is really pleasing. They are refreshed and are ready to go.”

The duo will pack down alongside new Dragons skipper Lewis Evans, who has previously been involved with Wales squads, in the back row this term.

And Edwards reckons the back-row will prove essential to the Dragons’ success in the new season.

“The back row is the heartbeat of our team at the moment,” added Edwards.

“We’ve got a front-line unit that is very young and talented, but we’ve also got a number of players who are going to back them up and challenge them hard.

“So I’m really pleased with where our back row is. I think the success of our season will be built on our back row.

“I’m very pleased where we are at the moment. Our preparation has gone very well and it culminated in our victory over
London Irish last weekend. That was a fantastic win.

“We went through an uncomfortable period last year in changing things off the field, bringing in players and releasing certain players.

“It was also a learning curve for us to have five players in the Welsh team.

“That was unchartered territory for the Dragons. It had a huge impact on our squad which we were unable to plan for.

“We had to deal with that through the season. We couldn’t capitalise on how well those players did with Wales, so it was disappointing from that point of view.

“It’s something we’ve addressed this year by making sure we strengthened our squad.

“Now everything is nice and steady. We’ve got a much stronger squad and we are in a pretty healthy state injury-wise, so everything’s fine.

“There’s going to be no excuses come the start of the season.”
 

Partners and Suppliers

Principal Partners
Principality
Admiral
Faletau raring to go following break
Vodafone
Go.Compare
Official Broadcast Partners
S4C
BBC Cymru/Wales
Official Partners
Guinness
Faletau raring to go following break
Faletau raring to go following break
Heineken
Faletau raring to go following break
Faletau raring to go following break
Official Suppliers
Gilbert
Faletau raring to go following break
Rhino Rugby
Sportseen
Faletau raring to go following break
Faletau raring to go following break
Princes Gate
Faletau raring to go following break
Amber
Opro
Total Energies
Seat Unique
Faletau raring to go following break
Castell Howell
Glamorgan Brewing
Ted Hopkins
Hawes & Curtis
Faletau raring to go following break