BREW TO DEPART

Feb 13 - Aled Brew has joined the exodus of players out of Rodney Parade after it was reported he will leave Newport Gwent Dragons for Biarritz. The Welsh region had hoped that the Wales wing, 25, would sign a new deal when his current contract expires at the end of the season. But Brew has opted to head to France, having also been linked with Perpignan.

ULSTER OUTPACE DRAGONS

Feb 11 - Ulster boosted their hopes of earning a play-off place as they took a bonus-point 30-12 win over a battling Dragons side in Friday's Pro12 clash at Ravenhill. Jason Tovey's early penalty gave the Dragons a deserved lead but tries from Robbie Diack and Ruan Pienaar helped Ulster move 15-9 ahead by half-time.

Tovey's fourth penalty cut the margin before Craig Gilroy's 51st-minute try. Further Dragons pressure failed to produce a score and Stefan Terblanche's late try secured the bonus point.

NGDs FORFEIT AND PUNISHMENT FOR POSTPONEMENT

Feb 8 - Newport Gwent Dragons have been given a £10,000 suspended fine and are forced to forfeit their LV= Cup clash with Saracens after the game was postponed due to a frozen pitch. But the LV= Cup's organising committee said there were no suitable alternative arrangements so awarded the English champions the fixture by a 20-0 score.

OSPREYS BEAT NGDs in LV= CUP

Jan 30 - Stefan Watermeyer scored on his debut as Ospreys ending Newport Gwent Dragons hopes of progressing in the LV= Cup with a 26-21 win in front of a small crowd at Liberty Stadium. The South African's contribution inspired Ospreys to their first LV= Cup win t -his season while Ross Jones, Hanno Dirksen and Eli Walker also touched down.

Dragons had been level at half-time thanks to wing Pat Leach's try and three Steffan Jones penalties. Luke Williams' late try was their only second-half score.

TOVEY SET TO LEAVE

Jan 25 - Newport Gwent Dragons fly-half Jason Tovey is set to join Welsh Pro 12 rivals Cardiff Blues in the summer. Tovey's Dragons contract expires at the end of the season and the 22-year-old's agent has confirmed he has "verbally agreed" a two-year deal at the Blues. Tovey's departure will be a blow to the struggling Dragons who will also lose Luke Charteris in the summer. Aled Brew's Dragons deal also expires in the summer and the Wales wing has also been linked with a move to France.

Newport Gwent Dragons' European campaign ended on a high with a seven-tries-to-two romp 45-16 against Italian side Cavalieri Prato. However, the hosts lost Wales flanker and captain Dan Lydiate with an ankle injury in the opening quarter. Adam Hughes opened the try-scoring with Rhys Buckley, Aled Brew, Alesana Tuilagi, Martyn Thomas and Lewis Robling also scoring. Alberto Chiesa and Clemens Von Grumbkow went over for the visitors.

Newport Gwent Dragons lost their third successive Amlin Challenge Cup match despite a big effort in Perpignan. A dominant first-half display allowed Perpignan to open a 15-3 half-time lead as full-back Porical Jerome slotted over five penalties. The Dragons hit back straight after the interval with an opportunist Aled Brew try, converted by Matthew Jones.But Charles Geli's try restored the home side's cushion and Robins Tchale-Watchou crossed in the last minute. Final score 27-13.

NGDs EDGE FINE MATCH

Jan 6 - Newport Gwent Dragons edged home 21-20 against the Ospreys on Friday night in a fine match. The Dragons celebrated their first Pro12 win since September as they held out in an excitinfg finale.

Martyn Thomas and Lewis Robling went over for the hosts and Tommy Bowe responded. Ospreys' starting fly-half Matthew Morgan kicked four penalties and his replacement Dan Biggar also put one over. Jason Tovey got 11 points for the NGDs. But Biggar also saw a last-gasp drop-goal attempt rebound off an upright. The hosts were forced into a late change ahead of kick off with Wales hooker Lloyd Burns (illness) replaced by Steve Jones in the starting line-up.

SCARLETS WIN POOR SPECTACLE

Dec 30 - A crowd of 7571 at Rodney Parade witnessed a poor spectacle between Newport Gwent Dragons and the Scarlets. Conditions were damp and skill levels poor and despite the crowd the atmosphere was lacklustre, made worse by clutches of one-eyed West Walians and their dreary chants. The Llanelli side got out jail as Lewis Robling, a substitute for the injured Jason Tovey missed four kicks, three in front of the posts that would have given the Dragons a comfortable win. As it was they lost 10-6 with Jonathon Edwards scoring the only try in the first half.

The Dragons were largely dominant but lacked composure and made mistakes in key positions.

I had the mis-fortune to come across a quote from a Western Mail match report commenting on the 'disappointing' crowd from Andy Howell. As follows

"(Nigel) Davies had targeted the clash with the Ospreys, understandably so because it had taken place on home soil in Llanelli but there wasn’t any reason why more players couldn’t have started both games with enough time for recovery. The result was a disappointing crowd of 7,571 last night, but you can’t blame people for not wanting to part with their money to watch an apparent second team. Coaches, players and power-brokers at the regions moan about attendances and say they can’t put a finger on the reason for it. Well, that’s one."

7571 is not a bad crowd of largely theatre-goers for a televised match between two non-entities. Its nothing to do with names on the team sheet, it is the product, the lack of supporter identity, the malaise that sits below international rugby in Wales. But Andy Howell has never been interested in the serious issues, has he?

CARDIFF TOO STRONG FOR NGDs

Dec 24 - The Henson factor helped attract a season's highest crowd of 10,660 to Cardiff City Stadium for the visit of Newport Gwent Dragons. Despite an early penalty from Jason Tovey the Cardiff side were dominant winning 28-9 with two tries from Alex Cuthbert and one from Bradley Davies.

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DRAGONS SLAUGHTERED

Oct 30 - Newport Gwent Dragons conceded seven tries as Treviso eased to a bonus point Pro12 win. A three-try blitz in the opening 16 minutes laid the foundations for the victory with Brendan Williams crossing twice after Alessandro Zanni's opener.

Ludovico Nitoglia added the fourth early after the break, while Tobias Botes, Robert Barbieri and Paul Derbyshire crossed in the final stages. The Dragons managed tries from Tonderai Chavhanga (two) and Steffan Jones. Chavhanga's second and Jones' effort arrived in the final six minutes but they could not hide the manner of the comprehensive defeat.

FINE WIN OVER WASPS

Oct 22 - Fly-half Steffan Jones kicked a last minute penalty to earn Newport Gwent Dragons a dramatic LV= Cup win over Wasps at Adams Park.

The hosts out-scored the visitors four-tries-to-two and took two bonus points courtesy of that and the narrow losing margin. John Hart, Tom Varndell, Ross Filipo and Joe Simpson touched down for Wasps.

Phil Price and Hallam Amos, 17, went over for the visitors with Jones' boot doing the rest. Ryan Davis kicked two conversions and Nicky Robinson added the extra points to Joe Simpson's 77th-minute try.

BATH OVERWHELM NGDs

Oct 16 - Bath overwhelmed Newport Gwent Dragons as the Anglo-Welsh LV= Cup kicked off at Rodney Parade. The visitors ran in seven tries with the hosts' recent South African signing Tonderai Chavhanga crossing in the first-half. Olly Woodburn, England World Cup squad member Matt Banahan and Tom Biggs went over in the first-half for Bath.

EIGHT PENALTIES BEAT DRAGONS

Oct 8 - Duncan Weir's amazing kicking display against Newport Gwent Dragons gave Glasgow Warriors their first home victory of the season. The fly-half equalled the Celtic League record for the most penalty goals in one game with eight successful attempts. Dragons number 10 Matthew Jones scored 11 points with his own boot and the visitors' Martyn Thomas went over for the only try of the game.

NGDs EASE PAT ULSTER

Oct 1 - Newport Gwent Dragons notched up their first win of the season against Irish opponents beating Ulster 22-9. Jason Tovey kicked the Dragons into an early lead before Tom Riley sprinted in for the only try on 24 minutes after Ulster's Nevin Spence was sinbinned. Tovey fired over four penalties in an error-strewn first half at Rodney Parade to put the Dragons 19-6 ahead. Penalties from Tovey and Ulster fly-half Paddy Jackson were the only scores in a lacklustre second half. Both side's were guilty of mistakes as the game opened in scrappy fashion on a humid evening in Newport.

BAD LOSS FOR DRAGONS

Sep 24 - Connacht fought back from 13-3 down at half-time to beat Newport Gwent Dragons in Friday's Pro 12 clash in Galway. The Dragons appeared in control at the break with Jason Tovey kicking eight points and Nathan Williams scoring his first try. But tries from Eoin Griffin and Gavin Duffy helped Connacht maintain their fine start to the season as they earned their third win in four games.

DRAGONS OFF THE MARK

Sep 18 - Newport Gwent Dragons scored two tries as they recorded their first RaboDirect Pro12 win of the season. Tom Riley crossed for the first after four minutes, and Jason Tovey's kicks opened up a 13-3 half-time lead.

Aironi closed to within two points through a Josh Furno try and two penalties from Naas Olivier. Andrew Coombs calmed home nerves with a converted try, and although Olivier's kick closed the gap, Matthew Jones' penalty took the Dragons clear again.

Backs Riley (dead leg), Wayne Evans (groin), Mike Poole (shoulder) and Adam Hughes (neck) all left the field injured and are extremely doubtful for Friday's trip to Connacht.

ANOTHER DEFEAT IN IRELAND

Sep 11 - Leinster secured their first win of the new RaboDirect Pro12 with a comfortable win over the Newport Gwent Dragons at the RDS. Leinster led 6-3 at half-time but pulled away in the second half thanks to tries from Brendan Macken, Ian Madigan and Fionn Carr.

Man-of-the-match Isa Nacewa kicked four penalties and two conversions. Jason Tovey scored a try, a penalty and a conversion for the Dragons who remain without a point after their opening two games of the new season.

DEFEAT IN OPENER

Sep 3 - Holders Munster opened their Pro12 League campaign with a deserved 20-12 victory over the Newport Gwent Dragons at Musgrave Park. Steffan Jones and Ian Keatley swapped penalties in a poor opening quarter before Johne Murphy's run set up Danny Barnes for a superb 26th-minute try.

Lifeimi Mafi's score extend Munster's lead to 17-6 at the break with Jason Tovey notching another Dragons penalty. Tovey punished three Munster's yellow cards with two more penalties but Keatley's late kick made the game safe. Att - 6000.

DRAGONS TAME BEARS

Aug 17 - Newport Gwent Dragons beat a poor Russian team 40-12 at Rodney Parade last night in front of a crowd of 3,000.

RUSSIA HEAD TO THE PORT

July 15 - Russia’s national rugby team will take on two Welsh regional sides in August in lead-up matches to the Rugby World Cup. Russia take on Newport Gwent Dragons on August 16 in Newport and Neath-Swansea Ospreys at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium on August 21. The games will be the first ever played by Russia against regional Welsh sides, though the Soviet Union team played in South Wales in the 1970's, and hosted Wales in the USSR.

NGDs TO FACE PERPIGNAN

Jun 19 - Newport Gwent Dragons will be returning to the south of France and lining up against former Ospreys outside half James Hook this season in the Amlin Challenge Cup having been drawn with former French champions Perpignan. The five Pool winners will progress into the quarter-finals where they will be joined by three Pool runners-up from the Heineken Cup. “Perpignan is a team that our players know and they have obvious ambition,” said Dragons Head Coach Darren Edwards. “Their signing of James Hook shows this and they are sure to be a big challenge for us. If Hook is at ten for Perpignan, it will be a great challenge for Jason Tovey to pitch himself against another Welsh outside half."

PLAYER EXODUS UNDER WAY

May 24 - Newport Gwent Dragons have confirmed that former Wales internationals Matthew Watkins and Nathan Brew are among 16 players released. Injury-plagued flanker Joe Bearman had already announced he would join the Ospreys when his Rodney Parade contract expires in the summer.

Home fixtures in capitals. RD denotes Celtic League  AWC - Anglo Welsh ACC- European