WALES hooker Elliot Dee will bring up a second milestone of the season at Rodney Parade tonight – and then set his sights on a Dragons legend.
The 30-year-old from Newbridge was first out of the Principality Stadium tunnel when winning his 50th cap against France in the Six Nations in March.
Now the front rower is poised to lead the Dragons out for the United Rugby Championship clash with Connacht (kick-off 8pm) on his 150th appearance for the club.
Dee was a feisty 19-year-old with a penchant for annoying seniors with his exuberance when he made his debut off the bench against Mogliano in October, 2013.
He brought up a century in a European Challenge Cup win against Worcester in 2019 and now tots up another milestone.
“I was hoping to reach it last year, but a couple of operations and a couple of injuries and I just ran out of time,” said Dee, who has played five times for his club and eight for his country at the World Cup and Six Nations this season.
“I have been waiting a while for it but it's been a nice couple of months, couple of milestones in the bag and something I targeted earlier on this season.
“I made Dai aware that they were goals that I had and it's nice to finally get to them.
“I usually find that you're waiting so long to hit a milestone like that. Then, as soon as you do hit it, you're looking for the next one.”
For Dee the next big target would be 180 to match the club record for a hooker set by Steve ‘Jabba’ Jones, the spikey front rower who has a snack bar named after him on the corner of the Rodney Parade terraces.
Beyond that is the double-century, a feat only achieved by Lewis Evans (236) that lock Matthew Screech is closing in on.
“Even 200 doesn't seem that far away when you look at 150,” said Dee, who has another year left on his current deal.
“Hopefully I’ll get to the 200 if the body holds up. That'll be the next goal, on Sunday morning that I’ll write down.”
There have been times when it looked like Dee would head for the Rodney Parade exit – he was one of the players to have a personality clash with former boss Dean Ryan – but now he is settled.
“It's the same sort of feeling as the house you grew up in as a kid. It just feels like home, it just feels right,” he said.
He has earned his Wales place back and will continue to battle Dewi Lake and Ryan Elias for the 2 jersey at Test level.
The bid to face the Springboks and Wallabies this summer would be helped by a strong end to the campaign both on a personal and team front.
The Dragons host Connacht and the Stormers, travel to Swansea to face the Ospreys and then take on the Scarlets at the Cardiff City Stadium Judgement Day.
Tonight can set the tone for the run-in with a tenacious, in-their-faces performance needed.
“We want to make it tough for teams to win and we want to feed off the crowd and the support at Rodney Parade,” said Dee.
“We've managed to do that a few times this season it'd be great to get one or two more before going down to the Ospreys and Judgement Day to finish the season.
“We're aware that Connacht are playing some good rugby. They will want to come and play, and we've got to have that gritty performance and be right up for the challenge.
“We need to take it to them upfront. It’s that classic Dragons performance that we need and hopefully that will do the job.”
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