16-05-2025
Welsh team forced to fly out semi-pro players from rival region amid late crisis in South Africa
Welsh team forced to fly out semi-pro players from rival region amid late crisis in South Africa
The Dragons' miserable season could still plumb new depths as they head into the final game without 22 players
Lewis Morgan in action for Carmarthen Quins
(Image: Ian WIlliams/Huw Evans Agency )
The injury-hit Dragons have been forced to borrow players from Super Rygbi Cymru ahead of their final United Rugby Championship fixture against the Bulls in Pretoria.
Filo Tiatia's side end a nightmare campaign at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, having lost the last 16 matches in a row in the league. And things aren't about to get any easier, with the Bulls having been described as the toughest away trip in the competition by Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt last week.
To make matters worse for the Dragons, they are without a staggering 22 players as they prepare to face the Bulls, who currently sit second in the league.
With an all-Gwent final in Super Rygbi Cymru this Sunday, the Dragons have had to look beyond Newport and Ebbw Vale for support.
At short notice, they've flown out Carmarthen Quins hooker Lewis Morgan and Llandovery loosehead Jamie Hughes to take up places on the replacements' bench.
As well as being limited to who they could call up because of the maiden SRC final, they also had to contend with finding players who could get time off work to fly out to South Africa.
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21-year-old Morgan offers coverage at hooker, with Tiatia's side without Wales international Elliot Dee - whose wife is expecting their second baby - as well as the injured Oli Burrows and Sam Scarfe.
James Benjamin also picked up a chest injury last week, resulting in the call-up for former Scarlets and Wales U20s hooker Morgan to back up Brodie Coughlan. Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free
28-year-old loosehead Hughes has been a leading figure for Llandovery and answers the call following injuries to Rhodri Jones, Rodrigo Martinez and Josh Reynolds.
Defeat without a bonus point would see the Dragons - whose only win came on the opening day of the season against the Ospreys - equal the worst-ever finish in the league in terms of points gained.
In fact, were they to lose by a margin of 108 points or more, they would stand outright as the worst season in the United Rugby Championship on that metric - going beyond Zebre's 2021/22 campaign.
Were the match not difficult enough, the Bulls will be determined to pay a fitting tribute to former Springboks winger Cornal Hendricks, who died at the age of 37 this week.
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Dragons: Angus O'Brien; Harry Rees-Weldon, Joe Westwood, Aneurin Owen, Huw Anderson; Lloyd Evans, Rhodri Williams; Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, Brodie Coghlan, Chris Coleman, Joe Davies, Ben Carter, Ryan Woodman, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Aaron Wainwright.
Replacements: Lewis Morgan, Jamie Hughes, Paula Latu, Barny Langton-Cryer, Evan Minto, Che Hope, Ewan Rosser, Ashton Hewitt.
Unavailable (22): Harri Ackerman (arm), Dmitri Arhip (knee), Taine Basham (leg), James Benjamin (shoulder), Oli Burrows (shoulder), Steve Cummins (arm), Elliot Dee (personal), Rio Dyer (ankle), Cai Evans (leg), Solomone Funaki (knee), Rhodri Jones (calf), Harrison Keddie (leg), Dan Lydiate (knock), Rodrigo Martinez (leg), George Nott (knee), Josh Reynolds (shoulder), Jared Rosser (pec), Sam Scarfe (shoulder), Matthew Screech (knock), Josh Thomas (leg), Scott Williams (leg), Luke Yendle (knee).
