Dean Ryan: Why Dragons' English boss cannot watch the World Cup final
Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
| Pro14: Leinster v Dragons |
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| Date: Friday 1 November Time: 19:35 GMT Venue: RDS Arena |
| Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Wales and BBC Sport website |
Dragons director of rugby and former England back-rower Dean Ryan will miss out on watching his country in the Saturday's World Cup final.
Ryan will be in the air, flying back from the Dragons' Pro14 match against Leinster in Dublin, when England kick-off against South Africa.
"I'm not sure I could hold the Dragons in Dublin for me to watch" he joked.
"And neither could convince my wife that I was the only person to stay behind."
Ryan had been hoping for a Wales-England final.
"We were looking forward to watching that, me as a solitary Englishman in the pub in Dublin on Saturday morning," he added.
But with Wales having to settle for the third-place play-off it meant that Ryan was unable to convince the rest of the travelling party to change their flight arrangements.
Break needed
Ryan is not expecting to see his World Cup trio of Aaron Wainwright, Ross Moriarty and Elliot Dee on regional duty until December, after the Wales-Barbarians fixture on 30 November.
"Both Aaron and Ross have played a reasonable amount, and they've also got the Baa-baas game," Ryan said.
"You've got to remember they've been going (in the World Cup squad) since April or May, and it's important they get the right amount of rest and come back in fresh."
Lock Cory Hill, who went to Japan but failed to recover from a stress fracture of the leg, is back involved with Dragons training but no target date for his return is being revealed.
Bevington operation
Wales international prop Ryan Bevington is to undergo knee surgery after an injury in the first game of the season, prompting the Dragons to seek to extend the short-term contract of veteran South African Brok Harris, but Aaron Jarvis is back in training after a serious hamstring injury in January.
There is also mixed news in the back row, with Lewis Evans needing specialist investigation of a bicep injury, while Harri Keddie is fit again ahead of the formidable test at the Royal Dublin Showground.
The Dragons have two wins from four, while champions Leinster have 19 points from 20 despite fielding a virtual second team due to World Cup commitments.
