Dragons captain Cory Hill has been ruled out due to an Achilles injury, so Head Coach Bernard Jackman has put his faith in 24-year-old Dee.
Commenting on the opportunity, the international hooker said; “This will be the first time that I have captained a side, and I was honoured when Bernard asked me.
“This region means a lot to me and this will be another proud moment - leading the boys on the field.
“I like to lead by example, and I always go into things giving my all so hopefully the boys can see that and take encouragement from it.”
With four personnel changes and two positional changes made to the team, Dee knows that there will be a few players who haven’t played at the stadium so he has given them some advice on playing in front of a packed stadium. “We talked about some of the players not having had a run out onto this pitch before and I explained that you need to embrace it as everyone is there to watch you,” explained the youngster.
“It makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up and it will be good for the young boys to experience that, as well as the older ones who haven’t had the opportunity. It will also be a good way to send off the boys who are leaving – we have trained this week with smiles on our faces as we want to enjoy each other’s company and enjoy the game before the end of the season.”
Dee will captain the side from the front row with props Thomas Davies and Lloyd Fairbrother either side of him. Rynard Landman returns to the second row from the back row and joins Joe Davies as Harri Keddie and James Benjamin link up with flanker Aaron Wainwright to complete the back row.
Hallam Amos, who recently made his Wales 7s debut in the Commonwealth Games is the only change in the back three, as he returns to the position of fullback alongside wings Ashton Hewitt and Jared Rosser. Zane Kirchner moves into the centre to partner Connor Edwards, whilst the half-back pairing remains unchanged.
The replacements bench has two changes to is as Luke Garrett and Sarel Pretorius join Liam Belcher, Dan Suter, Max Williams, Taine Basham, Adam Warren and Joe Goodchild.
Dragons team to face Scarlets
15 Hallam Amos, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Zane Kirchner, 12 Connor Edwards, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Arwel
Replacements; Liam Belcher, Luke Garrett, Dan Suter, Max Williams, Taine Basham, Sarel Pretorius, Adam Warren, Joe Goodchild.
Tickets are on sale now for Judgement Day VI from www.wru.wales/tickets, priced £10 for each seat in the ground with a £1-per-ticket online booking fee, as well as postage (Print at home e-tickets are also available), payable at the time of purchase.
