European Cup: Wales's occasional centre Ceri Sweeney has fired a verbal volley at Lions and Ireland outhalf Ronan O'Gara ahead of the Dragons' Heineken European Cup clash against Munster at Rodney Parade tomorrow.
Sweeney decided to stoke the competitive fires by insisting that O'Gara and his halfback partner Peter Stringer could be a little fainthearted in the white heat of battle.
The Welshman pointed out: "They can both be intimidated and we saw that for Wales in the last Six Nations game. In the end they had to take O'Gara off."
Perhaps sensing it might be wise to tone down the rhetoric, Sweeney added, "On the flip side, when Munster are going forward, he (O'Gara) just keeps them going. When he gets a platform he can kick you out of the game because tactical kicking is his strength.
"At times you almost feel suffocated because you just can't get out of your own half. He's a good quality player, but he's only human as well. He's the same as anyone else. People can get intimidated on a rugby pitch. Let's hope he doesn't have a 29-point game on Saturday."
Sweeney wasn't the only Dragon prepared to trash-talk the visitors. Tighthead prop Rhys Thomas offered his tuppenceworth on a visiting pack he apparently deems bordering on dotage.
"They're an ageing side. It's probably one of the weakest Munster sides. It's dangerous to say, but I think it's a great opportunity for us to get another win at Rodney Parade.
"It's been a big season for myself and I just want to test myself against sides like Munster. You want to perform against a good pack. Munster have had a reputation over the years as a formidable pack and we have to try and perform at our best. We have been training a lot on getting back to forward-type stuff, like scrum and lineout."
Thomas identified the Munster scrum as an area the Dragons could target: "I wouldn't say it's so much their Achilles heel, but it's probably one of their weaknesses at the moment. We will be looking to get on top of them in that area of the game, if possible. We have just got to lap it up and enjoy it."
The Dragons will be without skipper Jason Forster. The openside flanker has a groin strain, while former Wales prop Chris Anthony is a long-term casualty with neck trouble. Munster coach Declan Kidney has named David Wallace, who retired during the Ulster game with a leg injury, in a 26-strong Munster squad that flies out to Wales today.
Also included is John Kelly, who picked up an injury in training prior to the Ulster game.
Shaun Payne and Federico Pucciariello have failed to recover and are sidelined once again, having missed the game at Musgrave Park last weekend.
Ireland have confirmed they will play Australia in Perth's Subiaco Oval on June 24th at the end of their summer tour rather than at the beginning.
Originally Ireland were to face the Wallabies first before moving on New Zealand to play two Tests. Now Eddie O'Sullivan's charges will play the All Blacks on June 10th and June 17th before moving on to Perth for a one-off Test.
MUNSTER SQUAD: M Lawlor, J Kelly, A Horgan, A Pitout, B Murphy, G Connolly, T Halstead, J Manning, P Burke, R O'Gara, T O'Leary, P Stringer, D Wallace, D Leamy, S Keogh, A Foley, J O'Sullivan, T Hogan, M O'Driscoll, D O'Callaghan, D Fogarty, J Flannery, M Horan, J Hayes, F Roche, T Buckley.
