Dragons v Aironi: Teams
Dragons full-back Martyn Thomas returns to league action at Rodney Parade on Saturday as the Men of Gwent take on Italian side Aironi.
Last Updated: 16/09/11 5:30pm
Newport-Gwent Dragons head coach Darren Edwards has made several changes for Saturday's visit of Aironi to Rodney Parade.
Wayne Evans and Lewis Evans come into the starting line-up, replacing Joe Bedford and Hugo Ellis respectively whilst Dan Way comes in for the injured Ben Castle and Andrew Coombs moves from blindside to eight.
"Although we were disappointed with the results over the last two weeks, to keep things in perspective we are missing seven out of our first 15 at the moment through international call-ups and injury and with our squad that is a lot to accommodate," said Edwards.
"When you think that Rhys Buckley, Nathan Williams and Mike Poole all got their first taste of professional rugby over the last fortnight it shows that there is a great deal to come from this squad.
"There are a lot of positives to take out of our trips to Ireland. We had a very competitive back row with two international players to come back into the squad. Andrew Coombs has been very impressive in particular."
Debut
Meanwhile, Samoan winger Sinoti Sinoti is in the starting line-up chosen by Rowland Phillips as Aironi go to Newport.
In the first match at the newly-improved Rodney Parade, the New Zealand-born Samoan international will make his debut one week after his arrival in Italy, and after scoring the winning try for Hawke's Bay in the ITM Championship Final. Sinoti replaces Riccardo Pavan, who starts from the bench.
Gilberto Pavan is another newcomer to the squad as he starts for the first time this season at centre in place of injured Roberto Quartaroli. South African flanker Frans Viljoen will also make his first start of the season at blindside flanker with Josh Sole among the replacements.
New Zealand scrum-half Tyson Keats could make his first appearance for Aironi if he comes off the bench.
Dragons: 15 Martyn Thomas, 14 Adam Hughes, 13 Tom Riley, 12 Pat Leach, 11 Mike Poole, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Andrew Coombs, 7 Gavin Thomas, 6 Lewis Evans, 5 Rob Sidoli, 4 Adam Jones, 3 Dan Way, 2 Tom Willis, 1 Phil Price
Replacements: 16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Nathan Williams, 18 Nathan Buck, 19 Darren Waters , 20 Jevon Groves, 21 Joe Bedford, 22 Matthew Jones, 23 Matthew Pewtner
Aironi: 15 Ruggero Trevisan, 14 Sinoti Sinoti, 13 Gilberto Pavan, 12 Gabriel Pizarro, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Nicola Cattina, 6 Frans Viljoen; 5 George Biagi, 4 Joshua Furno; 3 Fabio Staibano, 2 Roberto Santamaria (capt), 1 Matias Aguero
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Lorenzo Romano, 19 Josh Sole, 20 Simone Favaro, 21 Tyson Keats, 22 Alberto Benettin, 23 Riccardo Pavan
