GIVE penalties away at your peril against Stade Francais at Rodney Parade on Saturday, James Richards, the Leicester hooker on loan from Newport, warns the Dragons.

And Richards also tells his former team-mates to be wary of the French line-out in the big Heineken Cup clash.

Richards has been on the receiving end against the French giants when they disposed of Leicester 26-15 in the first game in pool one, though that was at Stade Jean Bouin.

He warns of the menace of ace place kicker Diego Dominguez, the Italian outside half star who is the third highest points scorer in international rugby.

He scored 16 points against Leicester and another 12 against Ulster, though Stade were pipped by the Northern Ireland province.

"Dominguez kicked everything against us, he didn't miss a thing," said Richards.

"He was putting them over from halfway, though it's a smaller pitch over there, so you've got to be on top of things and you can't afford to make any mistakes.

"They are also very good in the line-outs (their locks are both 6ft 7in) and they put a lot of emphasis on pressurising opposition ball, which disrupted us.

"They put so much emphasis on the line-out, they get into yours and then they give the ball to Dominguez who puts it down there. They know they can get into the opposition line-out. "And Agustin Pichot (the Argentina star and Dominguez' half back partner) does a fair bit of sniping, he's a very good player and though you know what he's capable of he still breaches your defence. Before you know it you're then playing catch-up. If you go behind it's a struggle and you end up playing into their hands."

But Richards does offer the Dragons hope against the French aces. "Though they've got a good pack, their scrum wasn't that great, not a weakness maybe, it's just that they put more emphasis on the line-out," he said.

"I thought Toulouse when I played against them for Newport in the previous two seasons were a better all-round pack.

"And the French don't tend to travel that well, they lost against Ulster at Ravenhill where most teams find it tough.

"I wasn't that surprised by them, we knew where they'd be strong. But you've got to get among them in the scrums and line-outs."