The 2015/16 European Rugby Challenge Cup is now underway, with the Newport Gwent Dragons up against the Sale Sharks, Pau and Castres in Pool 2. Sale came seventh in the Aviva Premiership last season while Castres finished 12th in the Top 14 and Pau won the French D2.
The opening match of the campaign saw the Dragon’s secure a bonus point victory in beating the Sale Sharks 30-12 at Rodney Parade on Sunday, November 15.

The pool draw means the Dragons face a number of international stars. The Sale Sharks have England fly-half Danny Cipriani, Castres boast former All Black Sitiveni Sivivatu and Scotland’s Richie Gray, while Pau have recruited All Black double World Cup winner Conrad Smith as well as Damien Traille, who has 85 caps for France.

The Dragons went all the way to the semi-final of last season’s competition where they eventually lost 45-16 toEdinburgh at Murrayfield.

Supporters at Rodney Parade will fondly remember the quarterfinal victory over local rivals the Cardiff Blues. The Dragons came back from 14-3 down to eventually win 25-21 thanks to tries from Hallam Amos and Nic Cudd. The Dragons had topped a pool which included Stade Francais,  Newcastle Falcons and the Buceresti Wolves.

The Men of Gwent won at home and away against Stade Francais who went on to win the French Top 14 last season.

The Rodney Parade faithful will be getting firmly behind their team in the hope of progressing one step further this time around and were in good voice during their opening match victory.
Tickets for the remaining pool matches are available form www.newportgwentdragons.com/tickets
or by calling 01633 674 990.

European Rugby Challenge
Cup 2015/16 - Pool 2 Fixtures
and Results
Dragons 30 - 12 Sale Sharks – Sunday 15th Nov – 3:15pm
Castres Vs Dragons – Saturday 21st Nov – 4:00pm
Dragons Vs Pau – Saturday, Dec 12 – 2.30pm
Pau Vs Dragons – Saturday, Dec 19 – 7.45pm
Dragons Vs Castres – Jan 14, 15 or 16, 2016 – TBC