WELSH rugby stages a first tomorrow night at Pandy Park when a highly respected league coach makes his bow - in the union code.
The coach in question is Chris Anderson, the former Australian rugby league international who went on to coach the Aussie team which won the World Cup, and he takes charge of Newport Gwent Dragons for the first time in a match.
The Dragons play their opening pre-season friendly against a Welsh Premier Division Select XV at Cross Keys, and Anderson is relishing the opportunity though admitting it will be new to him. There is a keen sense of anticipation about how Anderson will fare and what he will bring to the Dragons after their success of last season.
"It'll be the first time I've really watched a game as a coach, it's going to be interesting, a lot different from being a supporter," he said.
"But I enjoy the challenge of the games, it's what it's all about. The most you learn is when you're under the hammer. We are treating this game as a real warm-up, their players are fighting for spots higher up the scale, too."
Anderson will regard this first test of his coaching ability in the union game as an opportunity to see whether all the hard work he has put the Dragons through and the new ideas he has introduced are working.
"We will be working on processes and strategies, and we hope to put a few new ideas into practice," he said. "The boys' work ethic has been really good and we'll start to take a good look at them in a match situation now," he said. It'll be a good trial run, it's not about winning or losing but working on things, and it's also about giving everyone a shot, they deserve that.
"It will give me some sort of idea whether what we're doing in training is working and worthwhile. It's about making blokes accountable for different parts of the game."
Anderson is well aware it gets tougher from here on in, and the next game a week Saturday is a huge test at Northampton, who finished third in the Zurich Premiership last season.
"That's going to be tougher which is good, too. I'll be looking for us to go forward and to improve next week at Northampton," he said. "Tomorrow night will give us a feel of where we are, then we'll use the video to plan ahead."
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