Back row Ollie Griffiths insists Dragons will go with the right mentality when they travel to Edinburgh aiming to secure an away win in the Guinness PRO14.
Dragons are back in league action on Friday evening (February 15) when they face in-form Edinburgh at BT Murrayfield Stadium.
Griffiths acknowledges an away win is overdue and they will face an Edinburgh side that has impressed with a run into the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup.
But the all-action forward insists the team will travel with renewed confidence and belief after the recent encouraging performance against Munster.
“It’s been a long-time coming so it’s massive to get that away win,” said Griffiths.
“We managed to do a good job on Edinburgh when they played at Rodney Parade so go up there quietly confident.
“We know it will be a tough task. They have been very good lately, but they might be missing a lot of internationals. We are looking forward to it.
“I just approach it as any other game,” he added. “We would all rather play at home and it’s nice to play at home, but when you go away it is just another game.
“I certainly don’t go into games thinking about our recent away performances or our record. It is another game and another opportunity.”
Griffiths brands his own season has ‘up and down’ and a couple of injuries have forced him out of action.
However, the target now is to be firing on all cylinders for the remaining Guinness PRO14 games.
“It’s not been great in terms of injuries, although I only missed around six games,” he said. “It was just the timing. I missed the derbies, which I was very disappointed with as they are the biggest games of the season. I was gutted.
“Hopefully I will be injury free now and can perform well in the last block of games.
“I just want to play as much as I can and stay fit. I can’t believe how quickly the season has gone, especially since Christmas.
“As a team we’ve spoken about the fact we have got Edinburgh and Benetton Rugby away, which are both games we can target.
“Shortly after that we have a trip to South Africa so we have a lot of away fixtures and one more home game.
“It’s about getting those away wins and building momentum over the coming weeks.”
As for his international chances, Griffiths insists his focus remains fully on Dragons.
“For me it is just about concentrating on playing well and hopefully I will get that chance. I have just got to make sure, if and when I do get the chance, I am ready to take the opportunity,” he said.
“Obviously I back myself to play at that level. If you don’t back yourself nobody is going to. At the same time, I realise the competition there.
“I just want that chance to show what I can do. I can’t fault the players who are playing for Wales, they are playing really well.
“The likes of Aaron (Wainwright) have taken the opportunity so I have a lot of work to do.
“All you can do is play well and control what you can. Selection is out of my hands and there is nothing you can do about it. Focus on your job and take it one game at a time.”
CLICK HERE to secure your tickets for the Dragons final home game in Newport this season as Ulster come to Rodney Parade for the Guinness PRO14 clash on 3 March (ko 3pm).
I certainly don’t go into games thinking about our recent away performances or our record. It is another game and another opportunity...
