SAREL Pretorius hopes that his burgeoning half-back partnership with Jason Tovey will fire up the passionate Rodney Parade faithful this evening.

Newport Gwent Dragons play their first home Guinness Pro12 game of the season when they host Zebre (kick-off 7.05pm) with both sides looking to record a first win.

The Italians were thumped 61-13 by Cardiff Blues in the capital last Sunday while the Dragons at least had the consolation of a bonus point from their 29-23 loss to Connacht.

Director of rugby Lyn Jones was full of praise for both new scrum-half Pretorius and fly-half Tovey after the nip and tuck encounter in Galway and the pair are charged with pulling the strings in Newport tonight.

The South African number 9 is relishing the chance to build on a promising start with Tovey.

"In the pre-season friendly against Cardiff Blues we clicked and we have during training as well," said Pretorius.

"The more you play together, the better the understanding that you have as you learn one another's game.

"Jason is a great player and makes the backs around him calm to bring the best out of them. He is a good tactical kicker and knows when to kick and when to run.

"He has been a massive help to me with the new calls and what to do and when to do it with our gameplan."

Pretorius played in Newport for the first time in the friendly encounter with the Scarlets last month but expects the atmosphere to be even more intense now that it really matters.

"I had a taste of Rodney Parade and the fans were really passionate and into it," he said. "I am looking forward to what it will be like for a Pro12 game."

Pretorius will be up against former Australia scrum-half Luke Burgess and he is relishing another tussle with a southern hemisphere rival he knows well from Super Rugby.

"I played against Burgess when he was at the Waratahs and I was at the Cheetahs," said the South African. "He is an experienced campaigner who has been around at Toulouse, Melbourne Rebels and now Zebre.

"It should be a good battle and hopefully that will bring the best out of me because it's an important game for us.

"Zebre lost heavily at Cardiff Blues but we have to focus on ourselves and try to build momentum because in this league any team can beat another on the day.

"We have to play the situation and do the basics well, then the scoreboard will look after itself."

- Dragons v Zebre teams news plus Lewis Evans' column on page 37