**Sam Davies says he is ready to step up to a senior role in the Dragons squad to help fill the void left by the departures of Jamie Roberts and Richard Hibbard.** Centre Roberts will move to Australia to join New South Wales Waratahs at the end of the month to be closer to his partner’s family ahead of the birth of their second child, while hooker Hibbard announced his retirement last week. Both men have vast experience in the game, with Roberts boasting 94 Wales caps and Hibbard holding 38, in addition to three British and Irish Lions Test outings apiece. Fly-half Davies accepts their departures from Rodney Parade in such quick succession will leave something of a void but the 28-year-old – who is set to make his 150th United Rugby Championship appearance against Benetton on Friday – has backed himself to take on more responsibilities as a leader. “Their Test experience, their Lions experience - they've completed rugby, so to speak!” said Davies.
