Scott Wilson primed for Dragons test
The 23-year-old makes his 65th senior appearance for the club in the 7.30pm kick-off, glad to be back at full tilt after an injury-interrupted couple of years.
“It has been a really disappointing time in the sense I’ve been unlucky enough to have injury after injury, but I feel really good,” said the England Saxons cap, who came through the Falcons academy via Berwick RFC.
“I’m positive, I’m fit and I’m enjoying my rugby. The club have been great with me in terms of being patient and I’ve had great care from the coaching, conditioning and medical staff. I’ve been given the time I needed and they’ve supported me all the way.”
Part of a Falcons squad who sit top of their European group with three wins from three, Wilson started at tight-head in last weekend’s 52-24 home win over Bordeaux-Begles.
The tight-head said: “Bordeaux were a big set of boys and it was great to get a start under my belt with a good chunk of game time – I’m just looking forward to getting back out there again now.
“We fronted up well against the physicality that Bordeaux brought, and also showed plenty of pace. It was good fun out there watching the boys score the tries and trying to keep pace with the backs, it was an exciting one to play in and I think the feedback from our supporters is that they enjoyed watching it.”
Showing a ruthless mind-set ahead of this evening’s Rodney Parade assignment, Wilson said: “Our attitude is that we want to win every game and we want to be top of our group.
“We know the Dragons will be niggly and they’ll bring it to us physically, they’ll try to out-work us but we just need to stick to what we do. They’ve got a good set of backs and will test us around the rucks, looking for little cut-backs. We’ve prepped for it all week and are confident we can deal with it.”
Admitting last year’s Anglo-Welsh Cup victory at Rodney Parade has played no role during this week’s build-up due to the horrendous conditions of the rain-shortened encounter, he added: “The video from last year when their pitch was a swimming pool hasn’t seen the light of day. I was a bit gutted I didn’t get to play in that one, to be honest, because I would have enjoyed those conditions!”
