OSPREYS: ‘You’ve almost got one shot to stop it’: Parry braced for Dee and the Dragons’ maul at St Helen’s

Ospreys co-captain Sam Parry says teams get “almost one shot” to stop a driving maul, and on Saturday he comes up against the league’s top try scorer.

Dragons hooker Elliot Dee has scored five tries this season, more than anyone else in the URC. He starts against the Ospreys at St Helen’s on Saturday (7pm).

Both hookers scored twice when the sides met a fortnight ago, in the Ospreys’ 38-31 derby win at Rodney Parade.

‘If your accuracy’s not quite there, you tend to get punished’

Parry was asked whether driving line-outs are harder to defend than ever, after recent changes to the laws. “Yes, they probably are,” he said.

“I think you’ve almost got one shot to stop it. If your accuracy’s not quite there, you tend to get punished.”

That means the best defence starts further away from the line. “Probably your discipline further out of the field now is even more important to limit teams’ access into the 22.”

Discipline was the Ospreys’ problem early on at Rodney Parade. Head coach Mark Jones said afterwards his side started “very poorly discipline-wise”, giving away three or four penalties in five minutes.

He also said that by the second half, “whoever gets into the 22 is going to score”.

Jones: ‘We’re going to get limited chances’

Jones expects a tighter game this time. “Both teams have had a little look at each other a week ago and are going to have to play better if they want to win this game,” he said.

“We’re not going to get a lot of chances, perhaps like we did in Black Lion last week, for example, we’re going to get limited chances and we’re going to need to be really sharp with the opportunities we get.”

He says the Ospreys have shown “quality up front” in their first four games, with “some threat from set plays in particular”.

“Against the better teams, like we’re going to have this weekend with the Dragons, we’re going to need to use a little bit of everything.”

Ospreys v Dragons: the numbers before St Helen’s

The Ospreys come into the game 13th in the URC on six points, after their first league win of the season last time out.

The Dragons are eighth on nine points after a win, a draw and a defeat, so victory at St Helen’s could take the Ospreys above their Welsh rivals.

The Ospreys have won three of the last five meetings and the Dragons one. The other was last season’s 19-19 draw at Rodney Parade.

Jones’ side come in on the back of two wins, at Rodney Parade and then the seven-try win over Black Lion in Tbilisi.

Ben Carter captains the Dragons, with co-captain Angus O’Brien out with a leg injury. Rio Dyer starts at full-back for the first time, and Anzelo Tuitavuki, who also scored at Rodney Parade, is on the wing.

Referee Ben Whitehouse takes charge of his 117th and last URC game, and the match is a sell-out.

Parry on 12 years of change: ‘crouch, touch, pause, engage’

Parry says he enjoys his role more than ever. “I love it. I love the job, I love the team I play for. It’s not really a job, to be honest. I feel very privileged to be around this team, moving into this new era, especially moving down here.”

“I think you learn to appreciate things probably slightly different, you do it that many times, you understand the pressures and what comes with it and just try and enjoy it as best you can.”

The game has changed a lot in his time, he says. “One of the changes, I think, my first year in professional rugby was crouch, touch, pause, engage, whereas now it’s bind. It’s such a silly one, but I almost can’t even remember what that is. Things just evolve very quickly.”

Parry and Jones also spoke this week about what the new ground means, before Parry leads the side out with Owen Watkin on Saturday.