Willis admits he's under pressure
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:00
Dragons skipper Tom Willis is back in the No.2 jersey this weekend, but he admits the pressure is on after some excellent performances by teammate Steve Jones.
Willis has had an injury plagued season that has made it difficult to string together a run of games in the first team after an inspiring first season.
Steve Jones has taken his opportunity at hooker in Willis' absence and performed very well for the first team.
A hip injury has ruled out Jones for the Dragons next match against Munster, which offers Willis the chance to reclaim his jersey.
"Steve has played fantastically this season and is one of the big leaders in our group," Willis told the South Wales Argus.
"He has set an example out there on the field this season and that put the onus on me to go out there and put in a big performance.
"Competition for places is essential for teams that want to improve and move forward and we have certainly got that here.
"This season didn't get off to a good start with the calf tear and it was an injury that I had never had before so was a wee bit unfamiliar."
The Dragons are fighting for Heineken Cup qualification and need some positive results to stay ahead of the Cardiff Blues and the Scarlets.
Munster will offer a difficult challenge on Saturday, with several international stars in their line-up.
They are a well-drilled, efficient outfit that get results regardless of what personnel they have out there.
"We need to meet them head on, they are very aggressive at the breakdown and everyone is well aware of the threat they present in terms of driving line-out force," Willis said.
"They have great patience in attack and look to slowly wear you down. We won't get too many chances against them so when we do we will have to be really accurate to take them.
"Against Ulster we defended strongly without letting our discipline slip. We will need all that and more against Munster."
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