Cardiff vs Dragons Predictions - Cardiff backed in URC Boxing Day derby

Marc Thomas

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Last updated: 31 Jan 2024

Marc Thomas 31 Jan 2024

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Cardiff vs Dragons predictions for Tuesday’s United Rugby Championship fixture (17:00 SAST)
Visitors lost twice to the hosts last season
Can Cardiff cover the 10-point handicap?

Expired

Cardiff to get a win under the belt (Getty images)

Cardiff vs Dragons Preview

Both sides come into this fixture in poor form but home ground advantage should give Cardiff the edge. I’m backing the hosts to win by more than 10 points.

Cardiff vs Dragons Preview
Head to Head
Cardiff Form
Cardiff Injuries & Team News
Dragons Form
Dragons Injuries & Team News

Cardiff have won their last 2 matches against the Dragons.
Cardiff have lost their last 3 matches.
Dragons have lost 6 of their last 7 URC matches.

Head to Head

Cardiff beat the Dragons in both games last season. Away Cardiff won 29-24 while at home they were 31-14 victorious.

Cardiff Form

Cardiff have made a slow start to their season in the URC. They have managed just two wins from their seven games along with one draw.

The Blues did not play this past weekend, so their last two games were in the European Champions Cup. They suffered a heavy 52-7 away defeat to Toulouse before running Bath close at home, but it was still not enough to win.

Despite being the Stormers in an impressive performance at the end of November, Cardiff lost their last URC game 29-23 at home to Scarlets.

Cardiff Injuries & Team News

Cardiff have had more than a week to recover so should be at full strength.

Dragons Form

The Dragons are rock bottom of the URC table with one win and six defeats to their name. They have the opportunity to start climbing the table if they can get some big results in the coming weeks.

Newport Dragons were well beaten in their last two URC games, both of which were in South Africa against the Sharks and Lions. They did bounce back to beat Oyonnax 24-7 at home in the Challenge Cup.

Last week the Dragons came close to another European win, losing 24-21 at Pau.

Dragons Injuries & Team News

Confidence among the Dragons squad would have been boosted by their two impressive recent performances. They will hopefully be able to carry that over into this weekend’s game.