NEWPORT Gwent Dragons boss Kingsley Jones is confident his side have the bench power to finish the job against Edinburgh in the Guinness Pro12 tomorrow, writes Chris Kirwan.

The Dragons are bidding for a fourth Rodney Parade win on the spin after turning over Brive in the European Rugby Challenge Cup, champions Connacht in the league and the Scarlets in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

Jones' side are building momentum and the head coach has made just five changes to the 23-man squad that enjoyed a derby win last weekend, bringing back captain Lewis Evans in the back row and centre Jack Dixon while Phil Price, Lloyd Fairbrother and Geraint Rhys Jones are named among the replacements.

Hooker Rhys Thomas and tighthead Brok Harris are promoted to the XV along with Tavis Knoyle in a move that sees livewire South African scrum-half Sarel Pretorius charged with adding late energy along with Wales centre Tyler Morgan.

"It's been pleasing how we are finishing," said Jones. "Connacht was a bit scary at the end but against Brive and Scarlets the bench came on and really made an impact.

"Finishing off like we did and scoring five tries on both of those occasions is really good; there are 23 of us and the players are buying into that.

"The best teams have players running on at 50 minutes high-fiving each other with everyone knowing their job."

Jones has copped some flak from those suggesting he tinkers with his XV too much but the head coach has stressed it's about keeping his charges fresh and hungry.

"I am a big believer in having headaches in selection and the only way that you can have that is by giving people opportunities," said the former flanker.

"Coaches can be hypocrites and give a guy 15 minutes once a fortnight then complain they didn't do their job but it's very difficult to get any rhythm in that situation, so we need to keep everybody in the loop and we need to be competitive."

The Dragons have developed a bit of a swagger on home soil but the head coach knows they will be tested by an Edinburgh side who have won four of their last five.

"Are we the favourites? I don't know," said Jones. "Edinburgh beat a good Ulster side last time out and really played well.

"We need to be on the money and have some confidence as well because we've got a bit of a home record going and need to keep that going."

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