EVEN South African scrum-half Sarel Pretorius doesn’t know a vast amount about the Southern Kings but the scrum-half is certain that his compatriots won’t roll over for the Dragons on Saturday night.

The Rodney Parade region entertain the men from Port Elizabeth in the Guinness PRO14 this weekend and are in the rare position of being overwhelming favourites.

The Kings have endured a tough start to life in European competition with heavy defeats to the Scarlets, Connacht, Leinster and Zebre.

The last of those was a particularly galling one for the new boys with the Italians, who finished bottom of the PRO12 last season, running in six tries at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

The Kings have been hindered by their late introduction to the Championship after being axed from Super Rugby, their squad flung together after many of their players were picked off by other clubs.

There may be an absence of household names in the away changing room on Saturday night in Newport but former Cheetahs scrum-half Pretorius knows there will be talent and a determination to show they are no mugs.

He said: “They have nothing to lose and that sort of team is always dangerous, so we can’t just say ‘it’s the Kings, they are new to the competition, they are vulnerable’.

“They will be targeting us and we have to stick to our guns and do what we need to. We know their threats – they have a very good back three so we have to tidy up any loose kicks because they will punish us.

“They showed against the Scarlets, when it was close (15-10) at half-time, that there is a lot of talent in their squad.

“We can’t go off-plan and know exactly what we have to do because if we go loose it’s what they like.”

The Dragons do, however, have a pair of scrum-halves who aren’t exactly shabby when the pace is high and the game is frenetic.

Pretorius is always a threat with ball in hand and was to the fore with his zip in the win against Connacht at Rodney Parade a fortnight ago.

On-loan Cardiff Blues scrum-half Dane Blacker is cut from the same cloth and impressed when he replaced fellow 19-year-old Owain Leonard in Belfast last week.

Blacker finished sharply for a try on debut and then created one for wing Will Talbot-Davies with a dashing break from a scrum close to the Dragons’ line in the 52-25 defeat.

“Dane did a great job and took his chance by creating one try and scoring another while he did the basics well,” said Pretorius.

“We’ve got a lot of injuries at the moment and when that happens you need boys to step up and show that they have what it takes to play PRO14.

“Dane is just 19 and is climbing the ladder at Cardiff Blues; I’ve told him that he just needs to be patient and he will get his chance. Wherever he is he just has to learn and take it all on board.

“Owain is a very tactical scrum-half and his box kicks are really good and his passing is good while Dane is more about attacking, sniping and with zip. They have different type of games.”

With Charlie Davies still on the comeback trail from a head injury, Blacker is poised to get the nod ahead of Leonard for this weekend’s clash while Pretorius will be fresh.

The South African missed the first two games of the season because of a tight calf suffered before the pre-season friendly against Glasgow.

He made his return against Connacht, playing the second half on the wing because of a glut of injuries, but was rested for Ulster.

“Load of people criticised [the decision to rest players] but it’s all part of a big plan to keep players fit and fresh,” said Pretorius.

“I think the boys that are rested feel really good after the off-week; we are targeting our home games and have a similar team to Connacht so the main thing is that everyone can be fresh for these games.”

The Dragons name their team at midday on Friday with Carl Meyer likely to get the nod at full-back and James Thomas set to return at blindside flanker for the injured Harri Keddie.

Head coach Bernard Jackman must mull over whether to go with Rynard Landman or Matthew Screech alongside captain Cory Hill in the second row.