The number 8 makes his return to Rodney Parade to face welsh rivals the Scarlets, in the third round of the RaboDirect Pro12. Faletau who has recently signed to stay with the men of Gwent until 2016 is joined in the back row alongside Jevon Groves and Lewis Evans.
On stepping into the role of open side flanker Evans said, “Versatility is key now for me. There is a slightly different emphasis on when you do play seven. I just need to have the number seven jersey in mind but it’s all about being able to adapt.”
On his first Welsh derby of the season Evans said, “We like to test ourselves against our Welsh counterparts as its good to see where we are and to also try and get rid of the fourth region tag. I think that this game is massive for us to keep developing.
“Now we are at home we want to make Rodney Parade a fortress and we just need to keep going in the right direction, with Lyn steering us.
“Lyn’s biggest thing here is changing the mindset of players, you could see that when we played Ulster, but last season that winning mentality wasn’t here and Lyn has come here and changed my mindset along with the youngsters like Jack and has had an immediate impact as we have beaten one of the top sides in Europe.”
Also included in the squad is Tom Prydie who steps back into open side wing after a slight ankle injury he incurred against Ulster. We also see a new centre pairing in Ross Wardle and U20’s International Jack Dixon, as Pat Leach is out with an injury.
Skipper Andrew Coombs has also been named in the second row alongside youngster Matthew Screech, who makes his third start of the 2013/14 season.
Dragons Team to face Scarlets
Dan Evans, Tom Prydie, Ross Wardle, Jack Dixon, Hallam Amos, Jason Tovey, Richie Rees; Phil Price, T.Rhys Thomas, Francisco Chaparro, Andrew Coombs (c), Matthew Screech, Jevon Groves, Lewis Evans, Toby Faletau.
Replacements
Hugh Gustafson, Owen Evans, Dan Way, Rob Sidoli, Netani Talei, Jonathan Evans, Kris Burton, Adam Hughes.
