THE talk at the Pro12 launch in the plush headquarters of Guinness little over a month ago was that the tussle for European qualification would transform the league. Perhaps it was the drink talking.

While it's risky to make assertions after just three rounds of action, very little seems to have changed.

Leinster, Ulster, Glasgow, the Ospreys and Munster look destined to retain their spots in the premier Euro competition and the odds are short on the men from Dublin, Belfast and Scotland's biggest city making the play-offs.

Cardiff Blues still look poor and it will probably be a shootout between the Scarlets and Connacht for sixth, just like it was in the run-in last April.

When it comes to Newport Gwent Dragons the pre-season optimism has been popped in record time.

Granted, they have come a cropper against a trio of unbeaten teams, but it already looks like an uphill task to improve on last term's ninth let alone retain it.

The results against Connacht and the Ospreys weren't disastrous, even if of the performances were hugely disappointing, as a pair of losing bonus points meant that the tally was one higher than in the 2013/14 fixtures.

But the meek Glasgow surrender made one fearful of what is to come in the first half of the season.

The Dragons have been crippled by injuries and it would be a huge surprise if they aren't left playing catch-up in 2015, keeping the Italians and Edinburgh company at the bottom with Cardiff Blues slightly ahead.

You could make a pretty useful back line from the players that are currently on the treatment table rather than on the training paddock – Jason Tovey, Ross Wardle, Jack Dixon, Pat Leach, Tyler Morgan and Lee Byrne, with Ashley Smith or Geraint Rhys Jones filling in at scrum-half.

With on-loan Ospreys centre Ben John unavailable for Europe one fears that midfield problems could lead to the October Challenge Cup fixtures against Stade Francais in Paris and Newcastle at Rodney Parade going pear-shaped, which would be a blow in a group that should give the region a good shot at qualification.

Hopefully that is just me being pessimistic and the Dragons will rally in the coming weeks and months.

But the regions don't look to be in good shape with their chances hindered by the delay of a fresh agreement with the Welsh Rugby Union.

They are playing catch-up and are some way short of the top teams. The Ospreys continue to give it a good crack but one fears they will be exposed by the stronger sides in the Pro12 and certainly by Northampton and Racing Metro in Europe.

Former Dragons chief executive Chris Brown used to talk about striving to make the region both a sustainable business and competitive.

The latter is becoming increasingly hard given the budgets that the Welsh quartet operate with.

Stuart Barnes, who worked on the Dragons-Glasgow game for television, wrote in the Sunday Times that, "Two narrow defeats and now this hammering at Rodney Parade looks bleak on paper. The reality is not quite as bad.

"They are not a big-budget team and with numerous first-choice players absent anything other than a gallant performance would have been a shock. Expect the Dragons to improve."

You can forgive the former Newport fly-half such generosity given that Sky Sports have only recently become interested in Celtic League rugby.

The rest of us are tired of gallant performances and subsequent pledges of improvements but expect plenty more of the same.