Dragons

Newport Gwent Dragons (Welsh: Dreigiau Casnewydd Gwent) are one of the four professional Rugby Union regional teams in Wales. They are jointly owned by Newport RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union and play all their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport. They play in the Pro12 league, the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the European Rugby Champions Cup/European Rugby Challenge Cup. The region they represent covers an area of southeast Wales including Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen with a total population approaching 500,000 and they are affiliated with a number of semi-professional and amateur clubs throughout the area, including Welsh Premier Division sides Bedwas RFC, Cross Keys RFC, Ebbw Vale RFC and Newport RFC.

Formed in 2003 as a result of the regionalisation of Welsh rugby, the team started life with a third-placed finish in the 2003–2004 Celtic League, and finished fourth the next season. However the team finished in the bottom three in the 2005–2006, 2006–2007, 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 seasons. In 2007 they reached the semi-finals of the European Challenge Cup, losing to French side ASM Clermont Auvergne 46–29. In 2011 they reached the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup, losing to Gloucester. They are yet to make the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup.