NEWPORT Gwent Dragons will bolster the Cross Keys squad in a bid to help the Pandy Park outfit have a real crack at the British and Irish Cup this season.
Keys start their campaign when they host Doncaster on Saturday afternoon before Pool Four encounters with Bedford and Cornish Pirates.
They held meetings with the Dragons as soon as they beat Ebbw Vale and Newport in the Gwent qualifiers for the cross-border competition.
As a result the Pandy Park outfit will field a combined squad featuring a spine of their own players, Dragons on the comeback from injury and the region's academy talent that has been playing for Keys, Newport and Bedwas.
The management team will also be joined by Shaun Connor, who was recently appointed as the region's academy skills coach, and the squad will use the Dragons' training base to prepare for the Knights clash.
They fitted in an extra session on Monday evening and return to Ystrad Mynach tonight before having a team run at Pandy Park tomorrow.
Keys were runners-up to Munster A in 2011/12, their first season in the British and Irish Cup, but have failed to qualify for the knockout stages in the last two campaigns after being in groups with Newcastle and Leinster A.
Head coach Greg Woods hopes that the partnership with the Dragons will help Keys prosper against three powerful opponents.
He said: "We went down this route in the tournament last season but the link has got a bit stronger.
"We are comfortable with the situation and a mixture of Dragons players and our own boys will help us going up against professional English sides.
"We are realistic enough to realise that we need the support in this tournament but our own players, the likes of Leon Andrews and Adam Powell (captain and vice-captain), will take the lead."
Newport's decision to rearrange Principality Premiership fixtures in the spare slots after failing to qualify for the BIC could backfire as a handful of their allocated Dragons players, including captain Ollie Griffiths, are pencilled in for Keys.
The Black and Ambers face Cardiff in the capital on Saturday, host Ebbw Vale the following weekend and then make the short trip to Bedwas.
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