And so it begins… First up is Connacht away. There’s been a lot spoken in the pre-season build up about us having to now change our fortunes away from RP, and the obvious one is first up. We haven’t won out in Galway since the inaugural season, and if there’s any hope for us following the words of Turner and the team, we have to win this one…

We’re still hampered by numerous injuries, including Tom Willis who didn’t quite make it for this game. Scrum halves Wayne Evans (knee) and Jon Evans (fractured wrist) are still both out injured, meaning Danny Lee gets his first start since the beginning of the year.

Martyn Thomas (ouch), Toby Falatau, Ash Smith and Mathew Watkins are all still out injured (well, sort of in MJW case).

Matthew Jones steps up to the outside half slot whilst Jason Tovey slots back at 15, whilst Matt Evans isn’t included in the 23 following some unsettled pre-season showings.

The game is being broadcast live in Ireland on TG4 and will no doubt be on Craggy FM amongst the adverts for Mary’s lovely cake shop and Jack O’Donnely’s second hand shovel emporium. The TG4 broadcast is beng stream over the internet – here- but it’s geographically restricted to those with internet access in Ireland . If only there was a way we could pretend we lived in Ireland… if only…

Edit – this may not be the case as I’m currently watching Garfield in Gaelic… guess we’ll have to wait and see – keep an eye on the Connacht thread in chat for more info

So, lets wish the boys luck as they kick off the new campaign. Come on lads, first game up, and away win…

FRIDAY 8 OCTOBER, 2010 – Glasgow Warriors v Newport Gwent Dragons 19.30

SATURDAY 16 OCTOBER, 2010 – Newport Gwent Dragons v Toulouse 17.45 (S4C highlights)

SUNDAY 12 DECEMBER, 2010 – Newport Gwent Dragons v London Wasps 13.00 (S4C Highlights)

SUNDAY 19 DECEMBER, 2010 – London Wasps v Newport Gwent Dragons 13.00 Sky Sports

14 / 15 / 16 JANUARY, 2011 – Toulouse v Newport Gwent Dragons

21 / 22 / 23 JANUARY, 2011 – 6 Newport Gwent Dragons v Glasgow Warriors

So there we have it. Glasgow away is our first game, then we host Toulouse, followed by the double – header against the Waspy things in December. The exact dates/KO times for the last 2 games aren’t normally released til after the 4th round of games – so that the ERC and SKY can arrange for the most appetising games to be broadcast. Looking at it, we aren’t going to be on the telly much boys and girls, so see you at the games!

The nearly interesting LV=Cup groups have been announced and are…

Pool 1
Leicester Tigers
London Wasps
Newcastle Falcons
Cardiff Blues

Pool 2
Saracens
London Irish
Leeds Carnegie
Dragons

Pool 3
Northampton Saints
Gloucester Rugby
Sale Sharks
Scarlets

Pool 4
Bath Rugby
Harlequins
Exeter Chiefs
Ospreys

But the LV=Cup format was created by drunken druids back in the Da Vinci Code era, meaning that we are in a group that includes Saracens, London Irish and Leeds. However we don’t ply any of them, we (and everyone in our group) play against the teams in group 3 – Saints, Glaaaawsterr, Sale and the Turks. We do, however, still have to come top of our group table, amonst Sarries, Irish and Leeds, in order to proceed to the knockout stages. Got that?

Pool1 – Cardiff, Northampton, Edinburgh, Castres
Pool2 – Leinster, Clermont, Saracens
Pool3 – Munster, Ospreys, London Irish, Toulon
Pool4 – Biarritz, Bath, Ulster, Aironi
Pool5 – Leicester, Scarlets, Perpignan, Treviso
Pool6 – Toulouse, Wasps, Glasgow, Dragons

The official unofficial clobber of the Newport Gwent Dragons supporter is now up for grabs from the interweb. You too can look dandy and swish on the terraces… terrace… at Dave parade with this elegant and subtle piece of cloth.

The kit is available here

The design can be bought on all number of splendid items of attire, from baby grows to Hoodies, and on a range of different grade t-shirts ranging from £13 upwards. The company that makes them is based in the states, so it may take a bit of time to arrive. We have used an external website that provides a clothing printing service – so we’ve designed the print, but aren’t responsible for the service recieved or quality of the merchandise – obviously, we want the best too, so if anyone has any issues with the service/quality, let us know immediately.

UPDATE: Several members have recieved their clobber, and I’m happy to report (as i sit here typing this out in my Clarta T-shirt) that the quality of the T-shirt (the default one , rather than the cheaper options) is good – decent heavy grade cotton and the print itself is of a tidy quality and seems substantial.

Disclaimer: Dragged up are not responsible for the printing or quality of the apparel, and are not liable in any way for the services provided by the company that produce the items. We have provided the design for the clothing, but anyone purchasing from zazzle.co.uk do so on their own behest. We are not responsible for the quality of the clothing, the delivery or payment contract with zazzle.co.uk.

NOTE: There has been one instance of a Dragged up member having to pay import duty on the clothing – but the rest of us haven’t had any problems. The website says that if the duty has to be paid, they will reimburse you for the cost. We will report back as to how this pans out.

Ravenhill: 1905 K.O – Live on BBC2 Wales

Sunday 17:00, Vicarage Road, England… be there or be hungover watching it on the telly…

So we’ve got the O’s development squad heading over for a bit of a knock about. Not sure if that Tighthead or wing are any cop, but we’ll let Ali Mac and Will Harries show them how it’s done…

The obvious talking point in the Dragons team is Tovey getting his chance to play at 10 – let’s hope the pack can give him a platform to work from. A loss tonight would mean that our worst ever losing streak ever ever ever… so the pressure is on the team and Turner to crank it up a notch or two, but it’s also a time for tinkering and developing some players, for both teams.

Rumours that we’ve hired Carol Vordemann to keep an eye on how many of the Ospreys are on the pitch are, as yet, unsubstantiated.

Sorry, was washing my hair…