NEWPORT Gwent Dragons head into the three-week break for the autumn internationals in a pretty healthy state, at least compared with last year.

Sure, they have lost three games in a row against English opposition, but they have been against three of the best and all have been away - against Bath, Gloucester and Wasps.

They got the better of Newcastle at home and I’m sure they would do the same against a couple more Guinness Premiership teams, especially at Rodney Parade.

But to take on three English giants in as many weeks, all away, was a huge task, yet they emerged from the first two games with a losing bonus point and they would have done the same in the third had they not conceded a try in the eighth minute of injury time.

Last season they did not have the depth to cope, and they got hammered against London Irish, for example.

That fate would undoubtedly have befallen them again, but they made a great fight of it every time, heroic in defence at Bath, scoring three tries at Gloucester and the best one of the match against Wasps.

They are well blessed at centre and in the back row while latest recruit Hoani MacDonald looks like being a big success. He’s tall, athletic and gets about the field, though needing to restore some weight as the Dragons need him at lock when he’s been playing at blindside for Southland in New Zealand.

There are major concerns about the lack of depth at prop, though, especially with so many injured while scrum half is also a bit of a problem.

But they were dealt a cruel hand with successive away games against Bath, Glouces-ter, Wasps, Leinster and Toulouse. Few teams could have come out of that on the credit side.