Tinus de Beer is looking to guide Dragons to a first United Rugby Championship win since the opening weekend of the 2024-25 season as they take on Sharks.
United Rugby Championship: Dragons v Sharks
Venue: Rodney Parade Date: Friday, 3 October Kick-off: 20:05 BST
Coverage: Live on S4C and BBC iPlayer
Tinus de Beer has enjoyed being himself in the build-up to Dragons' United Rugby Championship (URC) meeting with Sharks after spending much of last season pretending to be others.
The South African fly-half will start against his compatriots at Rodney Parade on Friday night (20:05 BST) as Filo Tiatia's side attempt to end an 18-game URC losing streak.
De Beer will be a key figure for Dragons after spending most of 2024-25 on the sidelines at Cardiff behind Callum Sheedy in the pecking order.
After 22 appearances in his first campaign at the Arms Park, the 29-year-old made just eight last season, with four of them as a starter.
De Beer vowed not to sulk and helped Cardiff by mirroring the opposition.
"Any player who isn't playing would be frustrated but I was unfortunate with a few injuries," De Beer said.
"Whether picked or not, it's about being there for the team and pitching up day in and day out."
Pretoria-born De Beer continued: "At the Dragons we have had boys who are running the show as the Sharks this week – how good can they be to prepare us for what is coming on Friday?
"If everybody buys into that then the team goes forward. If you are negative that is letting the team down and the ultimate goal slips away.
"For me it was a case of putting another jacket on, being in a role as the other team and preparing the boys as well as I could, and I felt I did that quite well."
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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."
If Dragons are to turn the tables from last season, when Sharks won 33-30 thanks to a try in the 85th minute, then they need to stand up against South African physicality.
Their aim is to play expansive rugby and there were signs of that in Belfast when they crossed for three tries and had two chalked off to deny them at least a consolation bonus.
"Ultimately, Ulster starved us of ball and we said before the season started that we want to be a team that makes people come through the gates at Rodney Parade to enjoy running rugby," said De Beer.
"We want to be a team that the fans are proud of and enjoy watching, but Ulster took that away from us.
"Sharks will come out firing and, like you expect with any South African side, they will pride themselves on their set-piece, physicality and bringing the fight to us.
"We know what is coming and need to be ready. We have a plan and need to stick to it."
Category: General Sports
