URC: Tinus de Beer aims to help ‘proud’ Dragons upset Sharks

The short move from Cardiff to Newport gives De Beer the chance to call the shots in the 10 jersey.

Even in defeat at Ulster, the South African made a good first impression with his control, competitive streak and one huge hit on livewire full-back Michael Lowry in the closing stages.

De Beer will hope to guide Dragons, who finished bottom of the table for the first time in 2024-25, to a first URC win since the opening game of last season.

However, after a big summer recruitment drive, Tiatia’s squad are not obsessed by ending hoodoos and losing streaks.

“The first time I met with coach Filo and [attack coach] Matt O’Brien we spoke about how we can take the club forward, we never spoke about results in the past,” said De Beer.

“It was all about a new season, new possibilities and how we can crack on with moving forward.

“It’s about how resilient we can be – with a bunch of new boys can we pitch up and make our home crowd and each other proud?

“You can expect a positive attitude and heads-up rugby from this team, and we are gunning for wins after the boys went close so often last season. Turn those narrow losses into wins and the whole picture changes.”