Cudd: Dragons ready for season-defining month

The Dragons have won just one league match this term - a 33-15 triumph over Treviso in round four - but now have fellow strugglers Zebre and a double-header against Welsh rivals Cardiff Blues on the docket.

Despite lying 11th in the GUINNESS PRO12 table, back-to-back wins against Bucharest Wolves in Europe mean the Dragons enter Sunday's clash with Zebre full of confidence.

And although Cudd predicts a physical battle against the Italian outfit, he is adamant that last weekend's 69-17 demolition of Bucharest was the perfect preparation.

"We did what we had to do and it was a professional job," Cudd told the South Wales Argus.

"It was a good performance - we ran well with the ball, went through lots of phases and scored some very good tries.

"Bucharest started well, like they did in the first game, and had some big ball carriers that made yards while they scrummaged well, so it was a good work out ahead of a big few weeks.

"It's a really big month for us and the league can change massively if we get the wins.

"Zebre have improved again this season and Italian sides are always strong up front. They will have a big pack and are usually good at the set piece.

"They will be stronger opposition than Bucharest and we will need to up our game again."

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