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OPPOSITION
In difficult conditions last weekend, the Dragons put on a wonderful
display of rugby against Leinster seeing the Region continue its European
Rugby Challenge Cup form into the Guinness PRO12. Tries from Man of
the Match Ashton Hewitt and Jason Tovey – not forgetting the additional
13 points though his boot – saw the Men of Gwent get back to business
in the PRO12.
The Welsh Region have played 12 games in the league and with wins
against Zebre, Treviso, Munster and Leinster all at Rodney Parade, the
Region now look to take their home form on the road.
Before taking on Leinster last weekend in the PRO12, the Dragons took
on a difficult Ospreys team during the Christmas period. As well as
missing out during this match, they also lost out by one point to Cardiff
Blues the week before. Prior to this the Dragons took on Munster at
Rodney Parade and won 22-6 but before that match the only wins in the
Guinness PRO12 came against the two Italian sides.
However, the Dragons have secured a different fate in the European
Rugby Challenge Cup after sealing a spot in the quarter-finals for the
second year running. After beating Sale Sharks and Castres at Rodney
Parade, and doing the double over Pau, this year the Region will travel
to Kingsholm, the home of Aviva Premiership team Gloucester Rugby,
on Saturday 9th April. Last season the Dragons took on Cardiff Blues at
Rodney Parade in a quarter-final showdown which saw the Men of Gwent
take the win and travel to Edinburgh for the semi finals. Unfortunately, the
Region missed out on a place in the finals that year, but look forward to
going one step further this year.
With the focus now back on the Guinness PRO12, the Region look
forward to this evening’s clash against another Irish side, Ulster. With
three players on international duty (Taulupe Faletau, Hallam Amos and
Tyler Morgan) as well as a long list of injuries to many of the first team
players, the Dragons will be looking to play with some consistency,
reigniting the form they had in the Challenge Cup and against Leinster.
As the Ulster men currently stand in 5th in the PRO12 table, the Dragons
will have a difficult challenge on their hands this evening. Therefore,
it looks to be an intriguing matchup for the two teams this evening at
Kingspan Stadium as the Dragons will be keen to get back on track in the
Guinness PRO12 competition.
The Newport Gwent Dragons now head into the
second half of the 2015/16 season and after securing
a win against Leinster at Rodney Parade, the Welsh
Region now look to kick the remaining fixtures of the
tournament into gear.
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CLUB STATS
//Location
Newport, Wales
//Founded
2003
//Ground
Rodney Parade
//Capacity
9,082
//Last Game
Leinster (H) 23-13 (W)
Fri 29 Jan 2016 at 19:05
//Next Game
Connacht Rugby (H)
Thu 11th Feb 2016 at 19:30
//Recent Form
L W L L W
STAFF
// Head Coach
Lynn Jones/Kingsley Jones
//Captain
Thomas Rhys Thomas
CONTACT
Rodney Parade
Newport
Gwent
NP19 0UU
Wales
Tel
01633 670690
TICKET OFFICE
Tel
+44 1633 674 990
www.newportgwentdragons.comnewportgwentdragons
dragonsrugby