WHAT a wonderful boost for Welsh rugby to get two teams into the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup after super Sunday.

And it couldn't have come at a better time as new Wales coach Warren Gatland gets his squad together for the first time this week to prepare for the England showdown at Twickenham a week on Saturday.

So it's a real shot in the arm for him, for the players and for Wales for the Ospreys and Cardiff Blues to make the last eight.

It will do wonders for self confidence, and it comes on the back of previous Heineken Cup winners Leicester and holders Wasps failing to even get out of the group stages.

On top of that, key England lock Simon Shaw is already out of the first Six Nations game, handing Wales another lift as preparations get under way.

Only a matter of weeks ago Twickenham seemed mission impossible for Wales, a ground where they haven't succeeded for 20 years and with England fresh from reaching the World Cup final as well.

I'm not suddenly saying Wales are going to march on Twickenham and knock England over, but at least it's beginning to look more of a level playing field and there is at least a chance.

The Ospreys and Blues just didn't edge through either, even if they both have away draws in the quarter-finals. They had to win on foreign soil to make it, and they did just that.

The Ospreys took on Bourgoin at their ground near Lyon and while the French side have shown little appetite for Europe in the past, this time they did give it a go. But the Ospreys were up to the task and this time justified all the expense that has been poured into the squad.

The Blues, too, succeeded where they have often failed in the past and they did so on a Bristol ground where French aces Stade Francais were well beaten.

Just one more try than the two first half efforts they did manage, and they would have been home to three-time former winners Toulouse rather than away in the quarter-finals at the beginning of April.

It's a huge task now, but Llanelli Scarlets succeeded there last year so it can be done while the Ospreys are capable of getting the better of Saracens at their headquarters.

And now for a political comment, and an eminently applicable one by bringing Newport Gwent Dragons into the equation.

It appears board members in this region believe their major task is to develop young Welsh players. Do that and be financially viable, and all will be well goes the view.

How wrong can you be! Of course those two aims are laudable, but you are going to win precisely nothing in terms of titles or even challenge for them if that's all you're about.

Just look at the influence former All Blacks have had on the Ospreys and Blues in the efforts to make a splash in Europe.

Would the Ospreys have managed it without Justin Marshall, Filo Tiatia and Marty Holah? No chance. Would the Blues have got there without Xavier Rush, Ben Blair and Paul Tito? Not a hope.

So of course overseas players of the right quality are needed. That is not to denigrate the squad the Dragons have for they always give it everything, but it's just a basic fact of rugby life. The powers that be at the Dragons ought this week to sit down with coach Paul Turner ahead of his visit to New Zealand, work out where they need strengthening (everywhere?), what money is available and charge him with the task of trying to bring a couple of players in to strengthen the team for next season.

Simple isn't it? But will such a meeting take place? I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.

And before I get castigated again from within for being negative about the Dragons I'm going to quote rival publications from the weekend.

On the selection of just one Dragons player for the Wales squad one commented: "It was the ultimate snub for an organisation drifting along oblivious to the outside world...the Dragons board can point to a new stadium coming on line soon, but it will be half empty unless they generate some kind of excitement for the project."

And another states: "Unless coaches Paul Turner, Leigh Jones and Dai Rees are given the cash to spend on at least four quality forwards and as many experienced threequarters the Dragons will slip out of the limelight next season just as they have this."

So the plight of the Dragons and their inability to compete in Europe is out there. It's not a personal issue as some would believe, it's just a desire for the Dragons to be up there with the Blues and Ospreys.

And don't tell me about the Scarlets and how they are suffering. They have long carried the torch for Welsh rugby at home and abroad, so comparisons really are odious.