The Blues travel east on Boxing Day as both sides get set to renew their long-standing rivalry at Rodney Parade.
Given the nature of that rivalry and the fact that the two sides are separated by just one place in the RaboDirect PRO12 table, Blues boss Phil Davies isn’t expecting an abundance of Christmas spirit to lie in wait down the road.
“It’s a great place to go and the atmosphere will be electric, the fans will be bouncing off the ceiling there. It’s going to be absolutely fantastic,” said Davies.
“Lyn (Jones) is doing a great job and they are in good form. The Dragons are highly organised and highly committed. With the crowd there too, we can expect massive intensity in the game.
“It’s going to be a great derby, I’m sure it will be a fantastic occasion, and we are all looking forward to it as we look to get back on the horse.”
The Blues enjoyed a fantastic fortnight in the Heineken Cup earlier this month as they kept their quarter-final hopes alive with back-to-back wins over Glasgow, but they were narrowly beaten by the Ospreys in the first local derby of the holiday season on Friday night.
Having seen his side edged out 22-19 at the Arms Park, Davies is now desperate to see his side make amends in successive fixtures with their nearest rivals, something he believes is well within their reach given their improved performances in recent weeks.
“We want to give the supporters something to shout about. We have to keep working hard to get the results we want moving forward,” added Davies, who expects to have Rhys Patchell and Chris Dicomidis available following respective leg and shoulder concerns.
“There was a lot of frustration in the dressing room after the Ospreys game. We played well but didn’t quite put the nails in the box when we needed to. There have been a few really intense games of late and that maybe the most intense we have had for a while.
“We want to keep playing well, like we did against the Ospreys. We have had a few good occasions in Europe and in the PRO12, and Friday was another. There was a good crowd and a great atmosphere – it was just a pity we didn’t win the game.”
