NEWPORT Gwent Dragons head coach Kingsley Jones is hoping the Scarlets can seal a top-six finish in the Guinness Pro12 – but there will be no favours in Saturday’s Judgement Day showdown, writes Andrew Penman.

The west Wales region are currently two places above the Dragons in the table in seventh position and will be confident of overtaking sixth-placed Connacht.

The pair are both on 44 points and Jones believes the Scarlets can still qualify for next season’s European Rugby Champions Cup.

But he will be aiming to dent their ambitions on derby day at the Millennium Stadium.

“We will have an effect on the race for the top six and I’d like to do Scarlets a favour,” admitted Jones.

“I’d love to see the Scarlets getting into that top six because it would be great for Wales.

“[Scarlets defence coach] Byron Hayward is my best mate so I really want the Scarlets to do well, except for this week! I hope they play well and lose.

“I think it will be the Scarlets [who finish sixth],” he added.

“Treviso away is a tough game but it’s one they can win and their last home game of the season is against the Blues.

“If they play well they can beat anyone so it’s up to them.”

Jones says the young Dragons players will have learned a lot from last week’s European Rugby Challenge Cup semi-final defeat to Edinburgh.

And he’s hoping the Murrayfield mauling will inspire them to greater glory in the future.

“We will learn a lot this week,” he said. “The players have been very focused in training and I got lots of texts from players over the weekend asking what we can do to resolve the issues with the scrum and lineouts.

“I texted back and told them to switch off until Monday morning but that’s what you want.

“I was getting texts on Saturday from players telling me they couldn’t wait to come in on Monday.

“There was a period of licking our wounds; I was feeling sorry for myself but by Sunday evening I couldn’t wait to come in and prepare for this big game.

“Going back to [when I was a young player at] Ebbw Vale we lost the first ever quarter-final, first ever semi-final, first ever final,” he added.

“Munster lost a semi-final, lost a final before going on to win it and look at Clermont now.

“It’s a process that a young group of players have to go through.

“Let’s have the urgency to get to that stage again next season and go that one step further.

“I’ve been through it myself and victory is a lot sweeter when you’ve been through the pain of losing.”