Dragons plan to slay Kings

The Dragons have high hopes for their two match tour of South Africa which starts with a clash against fellow strugglers the Isuzu Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.

This is a vital game for the Welshmen, who are at the bottom of the Guinness PRO14 Conference B table, just one point below the Kings.

Kings head coach Deon Davids, however, will be desperate for his team to record their third victory of the season.

Experienced Dragons forward Lewis Evans believes there are no excuses for Dragons not to perform against the Kings and then the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on April 13.

Evans, the leading appearance maker for the region, is eager for the Dragons to produce and eradicate the memories of a heavy defeat to the Kings in Port Elizabeth last year.

“We know it’s going to be tough between now and the end of the season, but we have to meet that challenge,” he said.

“It’s a big opportunity and we have got to step up to it. We’ve had some performances that we are all disappointed by, but the South African double header gives us a chance to finish on a positive.

“Two weeks in South Africa is big for us,” he said.

“It was a good trip last year, in terms of team bonding, but we know we need to perform on the field.“It was a surreal experience last year. We are used to jumping on planes for an hour to Dublin or Edinburgh so to go nine and half hours to Johannesburg and another hour and half to Port Elizabeth was very different.

“Going away for two weeks, as opposed to one last season, will be good for team morale and building that close bond as we plan for next season too.“We need to perform, that is the most important thing, and we have two tough games that we need to be ready for.”

Evans was part of the pack as Dragons suffered a 45-13 defeat to the Kings last year at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. However, Dragons did defeat the Kings when they travelled to Rodney Parade at the start of this season and Evans believes that is a performance they can build on.

“It didn’t go to plan in Port Elizabeth last year,” Evans said. “We were in the game in the first half, but ten minutes of madness saw the game run away from us after the break.

“We defeated the Kings at the start of the season so know how to achieve it. We feel like we can move forward to better performances and a win.”As for his own fitness, Evans is hoping to be back involved after a calf injury ruled him out of recent Guinness PRO14 action.

“I’d been hoping to be involved the last few weeks, but it’s not felt right so I have had to manage it,” Evans said.