PERCY Montgomery and Brian O'Driscoll, two of the best players in the world, are set to clash at Rodney Parade a week tomorrow.
Newport Gwent Dragons ace Montgomery has been earmarked for a return to Welsh rugby against Leinster after his triumphant return to international rugby for South Africa in the summer.
And O'Driscoll could make his first appearance of the season against the Dragons after sitting the season out so far during a lengthy conditioning period ordered by the Irish Rugby Union.
That was originally supposed to be for a three-week period and though some leading players are now back like Denis Hickie, others like O'Driscoll, Shane Horgan, Gordon D'Arcy, Girvan Dempsey and Malcolm O'Kelly have still not resumed, and the Dragons match could mark their return.
That would set up a mouth watering clash between Montgomery and O'Driscoll, possibly directly opposite one another in the centre.
"It would be great to play against O'Driscoll and the boys again," said Montgomery, remembering that his last appearance for the Dragons was against O'Driscoll and Leinster in Dublin in mid-May when the Dragons narrowly missed out on the Celtic League title.
"O'Driscoll is a really good player and the Leinster team have developed really well," he added at a Press conference to officially announce his return to Rodney Parade.
Monty also repeated the Heineken Cup and Celtic League goal he set for himself and the Dragons.
Monty revealed his ambition for the Dragons to shine in both competitions to the Argus the day he got back from South Africa.
"You have got to have targets and short and long term goals," he said.
"That's my personal ambition and I want to play a big part in it for the Dragons and help as many players as possible around me to achieve that. I'm raring to come back, I want to get out there, it'll be great to be part of the team again. Times are changing in the professional game, Newport needed it, they've got the right chief executive with Andy Marinos and four teams, not five, will strengthen Welsh rugby and Newport."
Both Montgomery and coach Chris Anderson stonewalled questions about where Montgomery will play.
"I'll play where it best suits the team," said Monty while Anderson said, "Where he would like to play and where he plays are two different things, but we'll talk about it next week.
"It's great to have Percy and after winning the Tri Nations anyone who comes back from that will offer a great environment and confidence which will rub off on the rest of the team."
Montgomery's second game on his international return was against Wales at Pretoria, helping his native country to a 53-18 victory, scoring 18 points himself. The two countries clash again at the Millennium Stadium on November 6.
"It was awesome being part of the whole set-up again and when we played Wales we were building up our confidence and getting our game going," he said. "I was very sore after the Wales game because Hal Luscombe elbowed me in the throat and I couldn't speak for a week. We did our homework on Wales, but it was always going to be a tougher challenge over here, though I'm sure the Boks will be up for it.
"There are a lot of youngsters like Schalk Berger there who is really coming through.
"He's a great player, very relaxed and down to earth, he just wants to get on with the job."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article