Smith had guided his Italian outfit to three consecutive wins before the two-week break , something they had never previously accomplished in their history.
The Dragons meanwhile have made a shaky start to the Pro12 season with only two wins from their first six games under new head coach Darren Edwards.
But Smith has warned his returning World Cup stars that they are fighting for their starting jerseys after the impressive start to the season from those who did not make the trip to New Zealand.
"We don't want to lose the momentum that we've built in the last few weeks," he said.
"The guys who played for the first six weeks have shown their competitiveness and I didn't think it would be right to just change the whole squad. There will be changes and people coming in, but not everyone.
"I still know a lot of people in Newport. It's a place I know very well and I still remember my time there. It will be a new challenge for us, they changed coach last season and they have some new players who have come in.
"We've prepared well for the game. Last week was great, and we knew there would be a lot of rain this week so in a way we were prepared for it."
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