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Newport Gwent Dragons

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Welsh Rugby Regions 2003

The Gwent Dragons were a regional Rugby Union team from Wales, playing in the Celtic League and European Rugby Cup/European Rugby Shield.

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Club History

The Newport Gwent Dragons, as they are now known, are one of the five original regions of the Welsh Regional Rugby Era. They are considered an amalgamation of two former Welsh Premier Division clubs, Newport RFC and Ebbw Vale RFC.

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

The Dragons officially represent the whole of the former county of Gwent (now Monmouthshire, Newport and Blaenau Gwent), based mostly around 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 preceeding year, the 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 Rugby 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 manager job in the summer of 2004. Some good off-season signings promise good things for the Dragons in the coming year, but how they will cope without Ruddock is yet to be seen.

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