HARRI Keddie says Newport Gwent Dragons are determined to get some pride back by upsetting Guinness PRO12 title hopefuls Ulster in their final Rodney Parade outing of the season.

The Dragons play their last Newport game of 2016/17 when they entertain the play-off contenders on Friday evening (kick-off 7.35pm).

Kingsley Jones’ men have performed pretty well on home soil this season with PRO12 wins against Zebre, Treviso, Edinburgh and champions Connacht, losing bonus points against title contenders Munster and the Ospreys and a clean sweep in Europe against Challenge Cup quarter-finalists Brive, Worcester and Enisei-STM.

However, they head into this weekend’s game on the back of a humiliating 54-22 loss to Leinster, a crushing defeat that still hurts the Dragons.

“Leinster was so frustrating because we’ve had a pretty good record at Rodney Parade this season,” said 20-year-old back row forward Keddie.

“This is our last game here of the season and we want to maintain the high standard that we have set in the majority of matches so that we can finish on a high.

“The Leinster game hurt so much because it was at home and we want to get some pride back. The fans are so great and make a lot of noise supporting us, so we want to repay them on Friday.”

That will be a challenge against an Ulster side who are starting to hit their straps with their haul of 24 points from the last 25 inching them ahead of the Scarlets for the final berth in the play-offs.

The Dragons, meanwhile, have not won since Keddie scored a double in the home win against Enisei-STM on January 13, losing seven in all competitions.

“Ulster are one of the top teams in the PRO12 and are in great form at the moment with some good results over the Six Nations period,” said Keddie, who has made 16 appearances in his first full season of regional rugby.

“It’s an important match for us to get back to winning ways after a difficult last month or so. We’ve got four really big games after this and a home win would really set us up nicely.

“We’ve got two derbies against the Scarlets and Cardiff Blues and games at Zebre and Edinburgh, who are close to us in the league, so a win would be a massive boost for us.”

l The Ospreys have announced former Ireland international hooker Allen Clarke’s appointment as their new forwards coach.

The 49-year-old will join from Ulster and replace Chris Gibbes, who is returning to New Zealand to become head coach of Wellington Lions.

Clarke won eight Test caps between 1995 and 1998, while he also played for Northampton and Ulster.