BRODIE Coghlan may not have quite put in as many shots against the Sharks as the official United Rugby Championship stats claim, but the Dragons hooker did produce another performance that suggests Wales international Elliot Dee won’t have things all his own way on his return from injury.
The 23-year-old has made a mightily impressive start to the campaign when starting against the Ospreys, Leinster and Sharks.
Coghlan has put himself about with gusto and so good was his display against the powerful South Africans that he was left on for the full 80 minutes in the last-gasp defeat.
The URC stats put his tackle count as an eye-catching 29 but the Dragons’ analysts have given him a lower, but still impressive, tally.
“They are not right but his tackle count was up there and was a very impressive number – low 20s rather than high 20s,” said Flanagan.
Coghlan’s wrong but official URC total tackle count for the campaign is 57, putting him second behind joint leaders on 59 Jac Morgan of the Ospreys and Ulster pair Sam Berman and Jacob Boyd. He has also made 24 carries (ranked 39th in the league), won two turnovers.
“Brodie has been superb and he transformed himself over the summer physically, working with [conditioning staff] Ryan Chambers, Ryan Harris and Will Bevan.
“He has changed his whole body and that reminded me of when I worked at the Scarlets with Tom Rogers, how he took life very seriously and made it about rugby to transform his body.
“We are seeing the rewards for Brodie because he is becoming a very good regional player.”
After developing with Newport RFC, Coghlan made his Dragons debut against the Lions in December 2022 and early opponents in the pro game were Wales legend Ken Owens and Springboks great Bismarck du Plessis.
He has made 25 appearances and is sure to add to that tally over the coming campaign.
The hooker has always been a feisty competitor but is learning to channel his aggression.
“Remember his game against Glasgow? He had a yellow card for what he did to Ali Price,” said Flanagan, referring to an off-the-ball hit on the Scotland scrum-half when making a first start at the end of 2022/23.
“He is a lot calmer and more composed, while his skill set can be underestimated. He is a very good scrummager and thrower.”
Coghlan has had a chance to stake a claim for the 2 jersey as Wales hooker Dee recovers from ankle surgery.
Stalwart James Benjamin has missed the last two games due to concussion while Oli Burrows is still getting his feet under the table after a summer move from Exeter.
After getting the nod ahead of 21-year-old Sam Scarfe, he made his debut off the bench at Leinster and was an unused replacement against the Sharks.
“Elliot has proper competition when he comes back and we also have James Benjamin, who was one of our best players in pre-season, to come back from concussion soon.
“Oli is learning the ropes and wants to impress while we have Sam continuing to develop after playing for us in pre-season.”
Coghlan is set to continue at the heart of the front row on Sunday when the Dragons face the Lions at Rodney Parade.
Flanagan names his side at midday with Wales tighthead Leon Brown and influential flanker Harri Keddie set to be involved after missing the last-gasp defeat to the Sharks through illness and a back spasm.
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