AFTER announcing himself by spearheading a Newport Gwent Dragons European upset, fly-half Angus O'Brien hopes to help them avoid a Challenge Cup banana skin in Russia.

The 22-year-old from Caerleon made a stunning European debut when kicking 18 points and running the show superbly in the 38-22 victory against Stade Francais in Paris two years ago.

That success saw him locking horns with South Africa Test ace Morne Steyn and he will be going up against another seasoned international campaigner against Enisei in Krasnodar on Saturday (kick-off 1pm).

O'Brien is likely to be up against Yuri Kushnarev, who has won 81 caps for Russia, but the Dragons prospect hopes to produce a mature display at 10.

The men from Rodney Parade have been enterprising this season and have scored nine tries in their last two outings but it needs to be right place, right time at Trud Stadium.

"As a fly-half you have got to make sure that we are playing in the right areas and don't try to play too much rugby in the wrong areas," said O'Brien, who is learning from experienced teammate Nick Macleod.

"I like to play with a lot of tempo and I'm enjoying the way that we are playing," he continued. "We are getting over the gainline, our ruck speed has increased and we are getting some nice quick ball.

"With the back line that we've got, it's good to try and get them one-on-ones in wide channels and the boys up front are putting a lot of hard work in to get us scoring tries in the corners."

The Dragons set off for Russia from Heathrow last night and travelled with confidence thanks to their five-try, 37-16 win against Brive at Rodney Parade last Friday. Enisei, however, beat Worcester 19-12 to fire a warning and only Connacht have beaten them on Russian soil in the Challenge Cup.

"They are definitely not going to be a walkover and we are prepared for a tough game," said O'Brien. "It's a bit of a journey but we've got to be professional.

"They are a big, physical team that bring a lot of line speed in defence and have threats in attack but we've got to take our game to them, impose ourselves and do the job."