Newport Gwent Dragons

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Newport Gwent Dragons
Founded	2003
Location	Newport, Wales
Ground	Rodney Parade, Newport
Capacity	11,700
Chairman	Jim McCreedy
Coach	Paul Turner
League	Celtic League
2005-06	8th
Home colours		Away colours

The Newport Gwent Dragons (Welsh: Dreigiau Gwent Casnewydd) are a Rugby Union team from Wales. They play in the Celtic League, as well as competiting in the EDF Energy Cup and the Heineken Cup/European Challenge Cup.

Contents 1 History 2 Controversy 3 Home ground 4 Statistics 4.1 Celtic League 4.2 Celtic League Cup 4.3 Heineken Cup 5 Notable players 5.1 Current 5.2 Former 6 Notable former coaches 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] History

The club came into being in the summer of 2003 when the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) controversially elected to reduce the current top tier of Welsh professional rugby from nine clubs into five regions, attempting to mirror the successful formats in Ireland and the Southern Hemisphere countries of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Newport Gwent Dragons officially represent southeast Wales, and play all of their matches at Rodney Parade, situated in the city of Newport, although friendly (pre-season) games have been played at a number of other grounds around a region that includes well-known club sides such as Pontypool RFC, Newbridge RFC and Abertillery RFC.

Largely drawn from the Newport RFC and Ebbw Vale RFC sides of the preceding year, Newport Gwent Dragons were considered one of the weaker regions in the Welsh game, although their coach Mike Ruddock was considered one of the best. However, this in a way worked for them as they were disrupted less than other regions by missing players during the 2003 World Cup. A creditable third place finish in the Celtic League was the result, impressing WRU bosses enough for Ruddock to be offered the vacant Welsh coaching job in the summer of 2004.

In their second season of existence they finished in 4th place in the Celtic League and in the pool stages of the Heineken Cup. In 2006, after finishing 8th in the Celtic League, The Newport-Gwent Dragons had to beat Overmach Parma in a play-off to qualify for the Heineken Cup. It was expected that, despite several injuries to various players, the Dragons would cruise to victory. However, after a poor performance from the Dragons, Parma won the match 24-15 denying the Dragons a place in the Heineken Cup.

[edit] Controversy

The naming of the region has caused considerable turbulence because, unlike the stand-alone regions of the Cardiff Blues and Llanelli Scarlets, the Newport Gwent Dragons are a new regional creation who are meant to represent a "Gwent region". Some in the Welsh rugby world, such as Welsh rugby legend Bobby Windsor, believe that including the name Newport would alienate some fans in the surrounding valleys including fans of the historic Ebbw Vale RFC [1]. Several names were suggested but all were rejected. In the end, the WRU decided the region's name for them, the "Gwent Dragons". This name didn't even last until the beginning of the season, because Ebbw Vale RFC went close to bankruptcy and were forced to sell their stake to Newport RFC. After this, the name Newport was added to the front of the title.

The Newport Action Group, among others, claim the side has lost more supporters by including the name "Gwent" in its title: The crowds supporting the Newport Gwent Dragons averaged 5,154 for the 2005/2006 season ^{[citation needed]}, whereas in the 2002/2003 season, Newport was Wales' best supported club and British rugby's fourth best with an average attendance of 8,302 - after English Premiership outfits, Leicester, Gloucester and Northampton. [2] Although controversy surrounding the naming of the region might be petty, rugby in South Wales is deeply divided amongst hundreds of historic rugby clubs with bitter rivalries.

[edit] Home ground

The Newport Gwent Dragons play all their home matches at Newport's Rodney Parade (home of Newport RFC). This is the only ground in the region with facilities suitable for regional games, with a capacity of around 11,000 and the city of Newport is the centre of the region's transportation system. However, it is ageing compared to other more modern stadia, and faces serious health and safety issues in the not too distant future.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Celtic League

Season	Pos	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Bonus	Points
2003/2004	3rd	22	16	0	6	8	72
2004/2005	4rd	20	11	0	9	6	50
2005/2006	8th	22*	7	0	13	9	45

• - includes 2 'Free Weekends' which equated to 4 points each.

[edit] Celtic League Cup

Season	Round	Match
2003/2004	1st	Llanelli Scarlets 40 - 6 Newport Gwent Dragons

[edit] Heineken Cup

Season	Pool/Round	Pos	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Bonus	Points
2003/2004	Pool 1	4th	6	2	0	4	1	9
2004/2005	Pool 5	2nd	6	3	0	3	3	15
2005/2006	Pool 1	3rd	6	1	0	5	2	6

[edit] Notable players

[edit] Current

• Luke Charteris (2nd Row) - Wales International
• Michael Owen (Lock/Back-Row) - Wales International
• Jamie Ringer (Back Row) - Wales International
• Steve Jones (Hooker) - Wales International
• Paul Emerick (Centre/Fullback) - USA International
• Ceri Sweeney (Outside-Half) - Wales International
• Gareth Wyatt (Wing) - Wales International
• Kevin Morgan (Full-Back/Wing) - Wales International
• Mike Hercus (Flyhalf) - USA International

[edit] Former

• Andy Marinos (Centre) - Wales International
• Percy Montgomery (Full-back) - South Africa International
• Rod Snow (Prop) - Canada International
• Jason Forster (Back Row) - Wales International
• Haldane Luscombe (Centre/Wing) - Wales International

[edit] Notable former coaches

• Mike Ruddock (2003-2004) - Former Welsh National Coach

[edit] See also

• Celtic League
• EDF Energy Cup
• Heineken Cup
• European Challenge Cup

[edit] External links

• Newport Gwent Dragons (official site)
• Newport RFC (official site)