NEWPORT Gwent Dragons boss Kingsley Jones believes technique can help them avoid a European banana skin against the strong men of Enisei-STM at Rodney Parade tomorrow (kick-off 7.30pm), writes Chris Kirwan.

The Dragons have no margin for error in their bid for a place in the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup for the third season on the spin.

They have to record a bonus point win against the Russians to ensure that they will head to Brive for their Pool Three finale next Saturday with their destiny in their own hands.

The Dragons are red-hot favourites for the meeting with Enisei but know all about the dangers of their guests after being smashed 38-18 when the sides met in Krasnodar in October.

The Russians added to their list of home scalps by outmuscling Jones' men with their one-out rugby, scoring five close-range tries in a chastening afternoon at Trud Stadium.

The Dragons, however, have made strides in that department and head into this weekend's game on the back of a strong display against a Treviso pack featuring seven Italy internationals.

"Our play off our scrum-half was good," said head coach Jones. "We are not the biggest side so we have worked technically on our body heights and numbers into the collisions.

"We saw, in the first half particularly, that the carrying game with the support players was very effective and it was the same on the try line when doubling up with tacklers.

"Things don't happen overnight and they are coming through from training but we have to keep that going because that will be a huge challenge against Enisei.

"We have to be technically good. The All Blacks and they are big and strong but also technically good. The detail is very important and often the smallest men on the field are the best tacklers technically because they have to be.

"We working to make everybody technically good so that we can clean a ruck with one player, or make a one-on-one tackle etcetera."

Jones names his team at midday and is likely to tinker with his XV after a bruising schedule that pitted them against Cardiff Blues and the Ospreys before Treviso.