Toby Faletau Is fit and raring to go for Wales...!

TOBY FALETAU’S early exit from Wales’ tour of Australia could prove a blessing in disguise for the Grand Slam star.

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That’s the verdict of his coach at the Dragons, Darren Edwards, who says the young No. 8 has benefited from time away from the game.

Faletau was forced home from the tour Down Under after breaking a bone in his hand in the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane.

That gave him added time to recharge his batteries over the summer and Edwards says he is now back meaning business.


The 21-year-old made his return to action, along with fellow Wales back-rower Dan Lydiate, in last Friday’s friendly victory over London Irish.

And Edwards was delighted with what he saw from the Tongan-born youngster.

“I certainly think the break might work to his advantage,” he said.

“You don’t realise that Toby is still a very young guy.

“It has been a whirlwind 18 months for him.

“He night not necessarily have needed the physical break, because he’s a great athlete. It’s the mental side of things as much as anything.

“I gave him and Dan a longer break than was needed.

“I asked them to perform for me last Friday night and put their markers down and the two of them were outstanding.

“So they are back meaning business for this season, which is really pleasing.

“They are refreshed and are ready to go.”

Faletau and Lydiate will pack down alongside new Dragons skipper Lewis Evans in the back row this term.

“The back row is the heartbeat of our team at the moment,” said Edwards.

“We’ve got a front-line unit that is very young and talented, but we’ve also got a number of players who are going to back them up and challenge them hard.

“So I’m really pleased with where our back row is at the moment .

“I think the success of our season will be built on our back row.”

Edwards has high hopes for the coming campaign and is looking to improve on the Dragons’ perennial position as the fourth-ranked Welsh region.

“I’m very pleased where we are at the moment,” he said.

“Our preparation has gone very well and it culminated in our victory over London Irish last weekend. That was a fantastic win.

“We went through an uncomfortable period last year in changing things off the field, bringing in players and releasing certain players.

“It was also a learning curve for us to have five players in the Welsh team.

“That was unchartered territory for the Dragons. It had a huge impact on our squad which we were unable to plan for.

“We had to deal with that through the season. We couldn’t capitalise on how well those players did with Wales, so it was disappointing from that point of view.

“It’s something we’ve addressed this year by making sure we strengthened our squad.

“Now everything is nice and steady.

“We’ve got a much stronger squad and we are in a pretty healthy state injury-wise, so everything’s fine.

“There’s going to be no excuses come the start of the season.”

Edwards continued: “We need to perform first against our Welsh rivals.

“You need to improve your standing within your own country, so to finish ahead of one of the other regions would be a major step for us.

“I’m hoping we can challenge these teams. We’ve got to aim to beat them.

“It would be nice to finish higher in the league.

“I think people expect a step up in our performance now.

“They recognise the fact that we played a lot of young players last year.

“We had a tag that we were developing our players. But I think that has to go now.

“These guys have to perform. They are a year down the track.”

and they are looking like accomplished players now.

“The players have got ambition here. They have got desire to get some recognition for their hard work.”



Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbynation/rugby-news/2012/08/23/toby-faletau-backed-to-bounce-back-stronger-from-australia-woe-91466-31677821/#ixzz24Mwuk8Au

Green Flag breakdown cover from £20??? Billy bargain.

Any chance you could post the actual link for the Green Flag offer?

I would like to see the Dragons do well. Their fantastic fans deserve it.

Looking forward to the Amlin games against them.

Pob luc y Dreigiau.

They looked very handy on the weekend... Some good players there this year... Fingers crossed they will do well.

You're a gent Hound. I'm sure I'll catch you at one of the games at least.

Faletau could have been protected a little bit better for Dragons last season, due to Tom Brown's form. I'm sure him and Ryan Jones will push each other on very well this season.

It's good news - hes a great player but did look very haggard by the summer/end of 6Ns.

There's some good backrow options being developed at the Dragons, though big shame about Waters being out for 7months

Long season for the young lad last year18 months non stop with plenty of internationals.

It is a shame for Waters but I think he was unlikely to play too often as Toby will be 8, Danny 6, and Lewis Evans is captain so will be fitted in at 7.

I really forget how young some of these Welsh players are , its fantastic how professional and determined they are already , so much left for them to achieve. Brilliant stuff

Lydiate is the grandad of the back row at 24

ScarletSpiderman wrote:It is a shame for Waters but I think he was unlikely to play too often as Toby will be 8, Danny 6, and Lewis Evans is captain so will be fitted in at 7.

It's good that the Dragons have a bit of depth to cover days when the lads like Toby and Dan are unavailable.

I hope Lewis Evans makes a big statement this year.