Wales international flanker Dan Lydiate will captain the Dragons as they travel to face Benetton in the United Rugby Championship (URC) on Saturday.
The veteran forward, who has earned 72 caps for the national team, is one of six changes made by head coach Dai Flanagan from the side that defeated Zebre in their last outing in March. Centre Sio Tomkinson, scrum-half Dane Blacker, prop Rodrigo Martinez, hooker James Benjamin, and lock George Nott have all been recalled to the starting lineup.
Prop Aki Seiuli is set to make his 50th appearance for the Dragons, coming off the bench in Treviso. Wales hooker Elliot Dee has been rested, while number eight Aaron Wainwright is named as a replacement.
Flanagan acknowledged the challenge posed by their Italian opponents, saying,
“Benetton do everything well. They’ve got a fantastic midfield and back row, and those guys give them the go-forward and make their platform superbly dominant. We need to control that. We have gone with a big and mobile pack, and we are going to try and be as physical as we can.”
The Dragons have won just twice at Stadio Monigo in the URC, in 2015 and 2020, and will be determined to improve that record against a Benetton side featuring the likes of Rhyno Smith, Ignacio Brex, and Sebastian Negri.
The match will be broadcast live on S4C and available via iPlayer, with a match report on the BBC Sport website and highlights on Scrum V on Sunday.
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