Dee battles hard to win his place back

■By SAM JACKSON

DRAGONS hooker Elliot Dee will make his first appearance since the opening weekend of the season today.

Dee, 32, who suffered a shoulder injury against Ulster at the end of September, is one of seven changes to the XV that drew with Benetton in Newport at the end of the month.

“Elliot has been working really hard and competing with all the other hookers,” said head coach Filo Tiatia.

“I love the way that he has been really competitive in training – he has come close to blows in a couple of moments with other players.”

Full-back Cai Evans, wing Jared Rosser, centre Fetuli Paea, scrum-half Rhodri Williams, loose-head Jordan Morris and No.8 Harrison Keddie also come in. Wales forwards Aaron Wainwright and lock Ben Carter are rested.

Dee, who has 56 Wales caps and played in all five Six Nations games in 2025, has failed to hit double figures for appearances in the last three seasons because of injury. This latest injury has been particularly frustrating.

“He wanted to put himself right for the autumn series,” said Tiatia. “There was collaborative discussion around how we could get him back early but it didn’t quite work out.

“Elliot ended up having an operation on his shoulder and has worked his tail off to come back as soon as possible.”

Dragons are without fly-half Tinus de Beer due to a hand injury. The the 30-year-old South African will not be risked ahead of the trip to Stade Francais in the last 16 of the Challenge Cup so Angus O’Brien starts at No.10.

De Beer, who has played in all 16 fixtures this season since joining from Cardiff, was rumoured to be joining Bulls but Tiatia is confident of keeping his man.

“Tinus has been outstanding, not just on the field but off it,” said Tiatia. “He has been great for the mentality of the group and is one of the toughest players I have worked with.

“He loves to tackle and whack people but is also a caring person who looks after a lot of the group and demands a lot from them. He is a natural leader.”

Stormers include wing Seabelo Senatla and centre Dan du Plessis after injury, along with No.8 Evan Roos, who has seven tries this term, with superstar fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu leading the attack.