WALES URC Squads Ranked
Dragons
There wasn’t much positive to write home about for the Dragons last year – 1-17 in the regular season and only 1 win in Europe (against the equally struggling Newcastle Falcons). Such was their luck that they could’ve been considered the weakest tier 1 club in professional rugby.
But after the departure of Dai Flanagan, Filo Tiatia and the Dragons’ management have gone to work on redefining their team identity and justifying their place as a competitive rugby club. With by far the most amount of trades of any Welsh Region (17 compared to Cardiff’s 7 and the Scarlets’ 6), the Dragons have emphasised physicality and brutality in order to climb up the leaderboard and avoid the mistakes of last season. But is raw power enough?
Here’s my take on the depth of the squad heading into the 2025-26 URC season:
Loosehead Prop: Wyn Jones, Rhodri Jones, Rodrigo Martinez, Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths
Dragon’s scrum has been, overall, one of their weaker areas. To remedy this, a lot of their signings have been props or giant forwards, and British and Irish Lion Wyn Jones should certainly provide some greater experience in this area. While not performing to a world-class standard over at the Harlequins, the fact that he may likely miss the Wales squad would only help the Dragons. Not exactly over-flowing with quality otherwise, but 4 is a solid number of looseheads. Depth Rating: 7/10
Hooker: Elliot Dee, Brodie Coghlan, Oli Burrows, Sam Scarfe
Scarfe and Burrows are still young players who’ve made little of what game time they had last year, but those first two names have been key for the Dragons in that time. Elliot Dee’s reliable fundamentals make him an obvious contender to deputise for Dewi Lake in the Wales squad, and his experience is invaluable to a team with few current international players. Meanwhile, Brodie Coghlan more than carried his weight in Dee’s absence early last season; though not enough to earn a call-up of his own, it hardly seems impossible should the Dragons’ fortunes improve, as he’s comfortably their second-best option. One more player of a similar level would help, given at least one of them will be missing during the international window. Depth Rating: 8.5/10
Tighthead Prop: Dillon Lewis, Chris Coleman, Robert Hunt, Luke Yendle
With 2 new signings, I honestly don’t know who starts here for the Dragons now. Dillon Lewis brings his significant international experience alongside his World Cup partner on the other side, while Robert Hunt should bring some South African scrummaging prowess should either Lewis or Coleman be called to the Welsh squad. The latter is also a player of some potential if Adam Jones is to be believed, so the Dragons seem much more well-stocked here after the retirement of Leon Brown. Relatively large for a Welsh scrum, too. Depth Rating: 8/10
Lock: Ben Carter, Levi Douglas, Seb Davies, Matthew Screech, Steve Cummins
The Dragons have always been relatively well-stocked here. Captain Carter is a well-rounded defensive stalwart who can more than handle the international field though he has had some injury struggles in the past year that may slow his return to his Pivac-era form. New Signing Levi Douglas, on the other hand, is simply a gigantic physical influence to his team, and his experience in the contact-heavy Pro D2 will create nightmares for opposing defenders should he be able to carry hard. Seb Davies and Matthew Screech are both highly experienced club-level players who can round out the game off the bench. Plus, Shane Lewis-Hughes and Mackenzie Martin add additional depth here if needed. Combined with their effective hookers, the lineout could be a real target for the Dragons this season. Depth Rating: 8.5/10
Back Row: Shane Lewis-Hughes, Thomas Young, Aaron Wainwright, Harrison Keddie, Mackenzie Martin, Ryan Woodman, Solomone Funaki
Definitely the Dragons’ strongest area and for good reason; not only are there serious internationals in the starting jerseys, but their newly-signed depth should more than make up for the loss of Taine Basham. Waino’s carrying game is simply absurd; excellent numbers in post-contact meters and defenders beaten, making him a dangerous try-scorer at the line. Keddie and Woodman are reliable and underrated at the breakdown, while Shane Lewis-Hughes’ lineout and turnover work was near the top of the league last season. But two of the most crucial names should be their two Cardiff recruits; Thomas Young runs like a winger in the back row, and has topped the URC charts for turnovers before, while Martin’s size more than makes up for an absent Wainwright. Depth Rating: 9/10
Scrum-Half: Rhodri Williams, Che Hope, Niall Armstrong
Rhodri is one of the better senior scrum-halves in Wales, and has been one of the region’s most consistent performers over the last few seasons. Whether he retains his position in the Wales setup is yet-to-be-seen, but Niall Armstrong should bring some Irish agility out of the scrum. Che Hope balances out the team with some more youth, but he hasn’t really made much of a mark yet. The Dragons may miss Rhodri during the international window, but with their much improved pack, they should be a lot more threatening here. Depth Rating: 7/10
Fly-Half: Tinus de Beer, Angus O’Brien, Jac Lloyd
A very balanced selection here. Tinus brings his Cardiff experience and reliability at the tee, and should start most of the region’s games. O’Brien’s experience and versatility makes him more suited to a bench spot, but he’s had some solid games for the region since he joined from West Wales, so he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Lloyd has just won Super Rygbi Cymru with Newport, so he could develop into a capable replacement too, but it’ll take time. Depth Rating: 8/10
Centres: Aneurin Owen, Fetuli Paea, Joe Westwood, Harri Ackerman
Over the past few seasons, the Dragons have tried to remedy their difficulties here and try out a number of different combos, but nothing has really clicked. That hasn’t stopped Aneurin Owen from being one of the most underrated players in Wales, as he’s a threat on both sides of the ball and cannot be underestimated. Ideally, Fetuli Paea will move from his international position of 12 to 13 to accommodate him, but we’ll see how that turns out. Westwood’s attack is also quite solid, though less so defensively, while Ackerman is still developing, and Fine Inisi could cover here too. Depth Rating: 6.5/10
Wings: Rio Dyer, Fine Inisi, Jared Rosser, Ewan Rosser
Dyer may have fallen out of favour with Wales selectors, but it’s entirely possible we could see him back sooner rather than later, as he remains a dangerous and aggressive finisher. Inisi can hopefully bring some flair on the opposite wing off the back of Tonga’s Pacific Nations Cup exploits, while the Rossers’ attacking game has surprised opposing defenders in the past. They’ll need strong support to reach the heights of the other regions in this department, but they may have just enough firepower to make it work. Depth Rating: 7.5/10
Fullbacks: Huw Anderson, Cai Evans, David Richards
If any player came out of the Dragons’ difficult last season with extra credit, it’s Huw Anderson, who has shot up from the U20s into an international contender for Wales at fullback. With a strong pack in front of him, he can easily take advantage of opposing kicks to restart momentum for the side, balancing out their control over the game. Evans has faded a bit more, but should be a solid second choice once back from injury. Angus O’Brien has also been effective here last year, and with Richards back from Newport, this position shouldn’t be an issue for the Gwent side. Depth Rating: 8/10
Overall Score: 78/100
Predicted Finish: 13th
Though still likely the weakest of the Welsh regions, the Dragons have made smart and considerable improvements to their key weaknesses. They should be a much more competitive side than last season, but escaping the bottom four seems a more realistic goal than playoffs for the time being. Depending on how things advance with the WRU, this could mark the start of a prosperous era for the region, as they are starting to narrow down how they want to win games, and certainly have the firepower to do so against the weaker teams.
My Peak 23:
W. Jones, Dee, Lewis, Douglas, Carter, Lewis-Hughes, Young, Wainwright, Williams, de Beer, Inisi, Owen, Paea, Dyer, Anderson
Coghlan, R. Jones, Coleman, Davies, Keddie, Martin, Armstrong, O’Brien
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