THE Dragons' Wales contingent will return at Clermont Auvergne on Saturday in the bid to build some momentum ahead of their three Guinness PRO14 derbies, writes Chris Kirwan.

Lock and captain Cory Hill, back row forwards Ross Moriarty and Aaron Wainwright, hooker Elliot Dee and centre Tyler Morgan were rested for the 48-14 European Challenge Cup defeat to Northampton after their autumn Test exertions.

The eight tries to two loss at Franklin's Gardens has ended the region's hopes of qualification for the knockout stages but the Dragons still need to go to Stade Marcel Michelin fully-loaded to cope with the Top14 leaders.

A strong display in Clermont-Ferrand is essential ahead of a festive period that pits them against Cardiff Blues and the Scarlets either side of a home clash with the Ospreys.

The Dragons haven't won a league derby for four years – a streak of 22 successive losses – and head coach Bernard Jackman is not treating Saturday like a dead rubber.

"We've got our internationals back into camp and will go there with the best team that we can put out to put in a performance that can give us a little bit of momentum into the derbies," he said. "It's a very tough period but we have to meet it front on.

"We want to play (expansively) and make our attack better because if we have to defend for the whole game it will be horrible.

"Clermont are a very powerful side and they went to Northampton with a huge team that had a big win. They are one of the few French teams who can go away from home and win regularly while at home they are near unbeatable, unfortunately.

"It's a case of seeing who is up for the fight and making sure that we get better than we were in Northampton, then we would have a little bit of momentum and areas we can have confidence in going into the Blues game."

Hooker Richard Hibbard and flanker Harrison Keddie went off after suffering head injuries and back row forward Ollie Griffiths suffered a knee injury in the first half that is likely to rule him out of next weekend's trip to Clermont Auvergne.