Blues director of rugby Mike Rayer says tomorrow night's visit of Newport Gwent Dragons to Goldington Road will give his players a strong "reality check".

The match up against the Welsh outfit is the Blues' first home pre-season friendly and comes on the back of last weekend's 100-0 thrashing of North Walsham.

But Rayer isn't getting too carried away with the result, and said that the Newport clash will provide a proper test ahead of their upcoming National League One campaign.

He said: "We looked quite sharp in certain areas at North Walsham, but we won't be getting carried away.

"We can't use that as any sort of barometer, because it was merely a training exercise and we were able to score at will. We've got to keep our feet on the ground.

"I believe the game tomorrow, followed by the match here against Cambridge next week, will give us a true test of where we are.

"Newport will pose as strong, if not stronger opposition to what we'll face this season.

"It will be a good test for us against a physical side who, will match us for pace and test us both defensively and at set-pieces."

Ahead of tomorrow's match, prop James Graham turned an ankle during the training camp in Norfolk last weekend and is unlikely to feature, while fellow prop Sam Walsh is unavailable.

Nick Walshe could be set to return after a hamstring problem, while skipper Dan Richmond (ankle) has an outside chance of playing.

Of the long-term absentees, Rayer also said he hopes that centre Liam Roberts (groin) will be out for no longer than four weeks after undergoing an operation this week and, also predicted September returns for injured duo Ollie Dodge and Sacha Harding.