SAM Vesty has backed his much-changed Worcester Warriors side to beat Dragons as they harbour hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup tonight (7.30pm).

Warriors must win at Parade Rodney if they are to stand any chance of progressing to the last four for the first time.

But qualification is out of their hands with Northampton Saints who host Harlequins this evening holding a three-point advantage at the top of the group.

After an experienced Warriors team defeated Exeter Chiefs at Sixways last Saturday, backs coach Vesty has made wholesale changes.

Only Dean Hammond, Tom Howe and Matt Cox keep their places in the starting line-up as youngsters Ollie Lawrence, Alex Hearle and Tom Dodd get their chances to shine.

But Vesty insisted he was determined to come out on top.

“We decided that we were going to use this competition to rotate the squad and give as many players games as possible,” Vesty said.

“But that does not mean we don’t want to win games.

“Obviously being in this position is testament to the guys that have worn the jersey so far and the boys taking the field against Dragons will do the shirt proud.

“We have got to go there and win, so the only thing we can think about is taking four points out of that game to give us a shot of taking over Northampton.

“The rest is out of our control.”

Vesty said he was also keen to make up for their disappointment in the European Challenge Cup when a defeat in Brive two weeks ago cost them a quarter-final spot.

“We let ourselves down a little bit in Europe with a couple of games that we let slip and lost a few points that we should have taken,” Vesty said.

“We were disappointed but this is another opportunity.

“You don’t get many chances in a career to go for silverware so let’s see if we can get through.”

Recent signing Anton Bresler and 18-year-old centre Lawrence will make their first starts for the club while full-back Nick David and scrum-half George Wootten could make their debuts if they come off the bench.

Fit-again prop Nick Schonert has also been named among the replacements after recovering from an ankle injury sustained in Warriors’ win over London Irish in late December.