WALES haven't won at Twickenham for 16 years, and now they are preparing to face an England team on a mission after their shock home defeat by Ireland.

There is no way Sir Clive and his England troops will settle for what happened at headquarters last Saturday when a bunch of Irish invaders deprived them of their five-year unbeaten run at the ground. They have a big point to prove, and Wales are standing in their way at Twickenham a week Saturday.

So, it's going to take a huge improvement from the Welsh pack in particular if they are not going to be overrun by an England team smarting from their Irish setback and sent out humming from a Woodward ear bashing.

Wales coach Steve Hansen says Wales are improving in the set pieces but are still some way off, which hardly bodes well for the England clash. Ireland's performance, particularly in the line-outs does put Wales' display in Dublin into a little more perspective, but England were without three front line locks against the Irish.

Martin Johnson has retired and Simon Shaw and Danny Grewcock are both injured, on top of which Jonny Wilkinson is still on the sidelines, so it's hardly England's World Cup winning team that is out there doing battle.

Then you get the inevitable World Cup hangover when one or two players lose that edge and are not quite the same for a while, hooker Steve Thompson for example.

But does any of that translate into a Wales win at Twickenham for the first time for 16 years? Hardly likely it has to be said.

But I see no useful purpose being served in slagging the coach either. It's pretty clear the team has come a long way in ability and fitness levels, but, just like Scotland now, they had to start from a very low base.

I couldn't believe it when I read one column last week by a former international saying Hansen didn't know his a*** from his elbow. What's the point of that? It's not remotely true anyway.

Now basically is the time for everyone to pull together in the knowledge that Wales are improving and everyone is giving it his best shot on and off the field.

Much the same can be said about Newport Gwent Dragons. All this mud slinging and general rabble rousing is doing nobody any good, and people still ranting on about the name have become boring.

The title IS Newport Gwent Dragons, the team IS playing out of Rodney Parade and it IS a genuine region with an academy set-up and Gwent age-group teams.

What people want to chant is up to them, just as long as they get behind the Dragons which is clearly the name to use for the sake of sheer convenience - you can hardly say Newport Gwent Dragons every time you open your mouth or write anything.

What is important for people to know is that everyone connected with the Dragons is working extremely hard to make the region a success, I can vouch for that personally.

Results like the one at Glasgow hardly prove it, but while the Dragons have trouble away they have lost only once at home, and they made a decent showing in the Heineken Cup.

And don't forget this is a team written off by everyone at the start of the season.

The best examples I can think of concern the two female members of the Dragons back-up team.

There is the doctor, living in Newport but based in Gloucester, who seems to me to perform above and beyond the call of duty.

Apart from treating major injuries during a game, she acts as masseur and spends all day of the game and hours during the week toning the players. Then she finds the time early in the morning at the airport on the return journey to administer eye drops to one player while aiding another lying ill in isolation, struck by a virus.

Her colleague is responsible for all the video analysis so that coaches Mike Ruddock and Clive Griffiths have immediate access to any player and any part of his game they want.

It really is a team effort, and of the fans who travel in reasonable numbers I liked the attitude of one on the flight to Belfast recently.

He worked in a bank in Newport, but he's from Ebbw Vale and is a Dragons fan. He was delighted at a collection at Rodney Parade which raised £1800 to help send Risca Under-16s on a tour to Florida.

He doesn't mind if many supporters chant the name Newport at the ground, but he chooses to shout Dragons, all of which is pretty reasonable to me.

The best thing we can do is forget the vitriol, or it'll never stop. Newport fans who have a go at Eddie Butler ought to leave it alone now, just as Eddie should basically get on with it.

The Dragons are keeping professional rugby alive in East Wales, it's the only team to watch at the highest level so for goodness sake let's stop the bickering and get behind all those who are committed to making the region and the team a success.

Finally, two questions concerning the Millennium Stadium. Groundsman Tony Horne and his assistant are the latest victims of cost cutting, so does that mean David Moffett is going to add gardening to his activities? And would the announcer who bellows out 'Come on support the boys' over the tannoy system when Wales are fighting back please stop it. Apart from being ridiculous, it's also downright discourteous.