With Anzac Day falling on a Wednesday, the Dragons have been forced to endure a five-day turnaround from last Friday’s clash with New Zealand. 

Last week’s travel only added to the challenge, but McGregor believes his team is up to the task. 

The key reason, according to McGregor, is the fact that the Dragons have used the same starting 13 in every match this season. It’s a situation McGregor hasn’t experienced during his lengthy career as a player and coach.

“That stability is of huge importance,” McGregor said. “That’s the beauty of not doing too much this week and giving the boys a bit of extra time off, because our roster hasn’t changed.

“We’ve got to tweak a few things in attack that we can do better, but certainly having the same people week after week and the repetition we’ve done prior to this week is really important.

“To have that consistency around the edges and the middle forward rotation. Our middle forwards didn’t play big minutes last week, we averaged 45 minutes for each middle, which is down on what they usually do, so they’ll be nice and fresh.”

While the five-day turnaround may be an inconvenience, McGregor is confident his players will be ready for such an important game.

“Each year we get a different speaker to talk to the boys, who gives them a bit more knowledge around how special the day is.”