Taylor Davies hunting Dragons double over Scarlets

It's east versus west at Rodney Parade in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 3pm) when Dean Ryan's men aim to back up a stunning 38-27 success in Llanelli.

The Dragons won for the first time at Parc y Scarlets, with Davies sticking the boot into his parent club.

The 26-year-old is enjoying a second season on loan in Newport and the front rower came up with the key score that helped ensure the away changing room was singing a victory song rather than having to listen to the hosts' rendition of 'Sosban Fach' drift down the corridor.

Davies hit Ben Carter with a lineout in the 72nd minute before guiding the drive over for a try that Sam Davies converted to make it 28-27.

"It was a sweet moment, it's always nice to get over the try line and it was a special moment to do it at Parc y Scarlets as well," said the hooker, whose last try at the ground was for the home side in a 2019 win over Zebre.

Taylor Davies puts in a tackle for the Dragons against the Scarlets

Approaching the hour it looked like it would be a case of 'Agent Davies' when the hooker grasped thin air when the ball was loose close to the Dragons' line from Liam Williams' flicked pass.

It was scooped up by Johnny Williams, who ran over for a try that was swiftly followed by Kieran Hardy's fourth.

Thankfully the Dragons showed their character to bounce back and end a 13-game winless streak.

"There were highs and lows in the game," said Davies, who came on after just three minutes when Wales hooker Elliot Dee suffered a head injury.

"It brushed past me and when that happened I thought that was it, that the momentum had shifted and that they were going to pile the pressure on.

"But we stayed composed and managed to come back to get the win. It was nip and tuck pretty much all the way to the end and a good game of rugby to play in."

For the Scarlets it's a case of short-term pain, long-term gain.

Davies is set to return west next season to battle for the 2 jersey, boosted by getting 18 games under his belt in the east so far.

Dragons hooker Taylor Davies

"I have to see how things play out but I am really enjoying my rugby at the moment. I am having a lot of game time and I am focusing on the things that I need to work on to better my career," he said.

"There are five more games this season and I want to have a good end because I have really enjoyed my season. I feel like I am one of the boys, they are a great set of lads and we work really hard.

"I am really grateful to the Dragons, I am putting in the work and have been fortunate to get the game time that I wanted.

"At this level you improve by playing. There is only so much that you can do in training, you have to be in the position of getting on the field.

"Every game you get something different, you learn from other people and how the opposition play."

Davies helped the Dragons enjoy a strong finish to the PRO14 last year and now he aims to sign off with a flourish in the URC.

The second Scarlets game is followed by a trip to Zebre, derbies against the Ospreys and Cardiff before the Lions head to Newport on final weekend.

After a step forward, the Dragons don't want to take one back and recognise there is plenty of room for improvement despite victory.

"This season has been hard," admitted Davies. "Week in, week out we train as hard as we can for the games.

"You push yourself and you push others. There is always an expectation to be the best that you can be.

"Against Gloucester we felt that we played well but we didn't seize the moment and the game ran away from us.

"We could have been better in Llanelli at some stages, we could have been more clinical, but it was good to see our composure later on in the game rather than folding and it was really nice to get the win.

"But we had moments of the game that could have been better so it's about fixing them and going into this weekend with the same attitude and taking the game to them."