Lyn Jones’ men top pool three on 16 points, but the North East side are snapping at their heels just one point behind heading into their home tie. The Dragons will not be short of confidence away from home, after they claimed a shock second round win at Stade Francais. More recently, they overcame Cardiff Blues at BT Sport Arms Park in the festive derby fixtures.
Something has to give with Newcastle winning their last three home games in the tournament whilst the Dragons have won their last three away from home. Falcons Director of Rugby Dean Richards is set to stick with his youthful group that overcame the Dragons at Rodney Parade, whereas Lyn Jones is set to field a strong side.
And Thomas is desperate to fight for silverware in Europe. He said: “This competition gives us a real chance to create some memories as we haven’t fired in the league so far this season. This gives us a real focus as we know this is a big chance for us to achieve something this season.
“We talked about turning Rodney Parade into a fortress at the start of the season but it hasn’t happened yet and we’ve got some good wins away from home. We’ve got some confidence from those big results away to Stade Francais and to the Blues and we’ve improved since the last time we played Newcastle.
“We train on a 3G pitch at Ystrad Mynach so we were actually more used to playing on it than the Blues were at Cardiff Arms Park, and we’re hoping for more of the same at Kingston Park this weekend.”
