Newport Gwent Dragons: Encyclopedia II - Newport Gwent Dragons - Club History

Newport Gwent Dragons - Club History

The club came into being in the summer of 2003 when the 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 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 coaching job in the summer of 2004. Some good off-season signings promise good things for Newport Gwent Dragons in the coming year, but how they will cope without Ruddock is yet to be seen.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Club History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki