Dan Lydiate fears it could be Judgement Day for his Newport Gwent Dragons side if they don’t up their game for Saturday’s clash against Welsh rivals the Scarlets.

The Dragons head into the tie at the Millennium Stadium on the back of a 52-19 defeat to the Ospreys last Friday, in which Lydiate made his comeback from six months on the sidelines with an ankle injury.

And despite tipsters backing the flanker to make a late run for the British & Irish Lions squad, Lydiate is concerned his side could ship just as many points this weekend as last.

"If we don't turn up on the weekend we could be looking at 50 points again," said Lydiate. "Our performances have not been good enough.

"We had a massive loss against the Ospreys. Make no bones about it – it wasn't good enough.

"On a personal note I was just happy to get back in that environment and playing again, getting 40 minutes under my belt, but as a team we didn't perform.

"The Scarlets have got a really good team. So if we don't turn up on the weekend we could be looking at 50 points again.
"So we have to make sure our heads are on again."

The Ospreys ran in seven tries against the Dragons at the Liberty Stadium, while Lydiate’s men were also on the end of a 60-3 defeat to Glasgow Warriors in February.

The Dragons have lost their last six RaboDirect PRO12 games against Welsh opposition and their only two wins in the competition since round nine have come against the Italian sides.

The Scarlets currently lie fifth in the table with four regular season matches remaining and only an inferior points difference keeping them below the Ospreys.

Victory this weekend would be a tenth straight league win over the Dragons, and Scarlets boss Simon Easterby is hoping to extend that streak – and keep Lydiate quiet – on Saturday as his side look to break into the top four play-off places.

A former British & Irish Lions blindside flanker himself, Easterby hopes Lydiate gets a chance to prove his worth to coach Warren Gatland – but not this weekend.

“Dan has potential to be a Lions Test number six, but whether he has enough time I am not sure,” said Easterby. “Hopefully for him he has but I am hoping he does not get a chance to show that this weekend.

“We are aware of his qualities because Dan offers something different to other players and he can be so destructive with his tackling technique.

“He did not win the Six Nations player of the tournament last season for nothing and a lot of that was down to his defensive work.”

At Millennium Stadium, 2.30pm Live on BBC WALES
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Neil Hennessy, Jon Mason (both WRU)
Citing Commissioner: Ray Wilton (WRU)
TMO: Tony Rowlands (WRU)