The Rodney Parade region sealed their spot in the last eight with their 40-29 triumph at Newcastle Falcons last weekend but it is not job done yet. A win against Stade Francais this weekend would guarantee them a home quarter-final – where they could come up against regional rivals Cardiff Blues.
The Dragons’ opening round 38-22 victory in Paris put Lyn Jones’ side on the quarter-final trail, and they will be hoping for a repeat in-front of their fans. But it will not be an easy ride against the pre-tournament favourites, who sit joint top of the Top 14.
And Morgan is expecting Stade’s heavyweights to pack a punch at the Parade this weekend.
“It will be a hell of a game because Ioane is one of the most powerful runners in world rugby and Steyn at 10 controls things really well,” he said.
“Stade can be flamboyant but they can also be direct with the pack that they have, carrying hard all over the field. We have to earn the right to play wide and cause them to tighten up before we try and go around them.”
“We’ve qualified but a home-quarter final is really important because the crowd behind us would carry us through. We had a very good performance out in Paris against a team that were the favourites for the tournament and also against a very good Newcastle side.
“It’s frustrating that we are not repeating our European form week in, week out in the Guinness Pro12 so we have to improve our consistency.”
