STEVE Lander. A name that I will never forget.

Much to my wife's annoyance, I am a hoarder of T-shirts and among raggedy old band merchandise is one from the build-up to the Pilkington Cup final in 1996.

Across the shoulder blades is 'The Leicester Tale', then along the spine are the results of Exeter 27-0 (fourth round), Saracens 40-16 (fifth round), Harlequins 24-9 (quarter-final), London Irish 46-22 (semi-final) and Bath (final) and on the small of the back is 'doing it in style'.

The T-shirt remains in my collection even though the ending of that final was not a happy one, at least for those of us that headed to Twickenham from the East Midlands rather than West Country.

It was all going swimmingly until the last minute when Mr Lander controversially awarded a penalty try for persistent killing of the ball inside the 22.

Jon Callard's conversion meant Bath triumphed 16-15, leading to Neil Back gently shoving the official to the ground at the final whistle – his claim that he thought it was opposite number Andy Robinson didn't save him from a six-month ban – and several Tigers players smashed the glass runners-up tankards provided by the sponsors in their changing room.

That 19-year-old T-shirt is only just younger than Newport Gwent Dragons centre/wing Tyler Morgan yet it remains in the drawer, its presence a reminder of an awful refereeing decision.

You see, defeat hurts more when it's against a rival and for my generation from Leicester it is Bath who are the team to beat despite geography suggesting it should be neighbouring Northampton.

But there is more at stake in the much-maligned European Challenge Cup on Saturday afternoon than there was on that sunny day in May, 1996.

That Pilkington Cup clash was between two English heavyweights but this weekend is a glorious chance for Newport Gwent Dragons, a region used to bumbling around at the bottom of the Celtic League, to make some waves.

Granted, the Challenge Cup is not the most glamorous of competitions and it was harsh but fair when Rob Kitson wrote in the Guardian this week that "a rapt global audience, let's face it, is not counting down the hours until the Newport Gwent Dragons and the Cardiff Blues – ninth and 10th respectively in the Pro12 – get it on this Saturday lunchtime."

But the quarter-final is a massive game for those of us that deal in Newport Gwent Dragons matters every week from August through to May.

Lyn Jones' men have made some big strides since the autumn; recent wins against Newcastle, Stade Francais, Leinster, Ulster and even Treviso, who they had never beaten on Italian soil in the league, suggest that they are on the right track.

There is a talented crop of young talent – Hallam Amos, Morgan, Jack Dixon, Elliot Dee, James Benjamin, Ollie Griffiths – guided by a spine of experience.

But the Dragons now face the biggest game in years, arguably since the first season of their existence when they were going for the Celtic League title in 2004.

They NEED victory on Saturday. They NEED to stay above Cardiff Blues in the Guinness Pro12.

The Challenge Cup may not whet the appetite like the Champions Cup clashes in Dublin, Clermont-Ferrand, Paris and Toulon but the stakes are incredibly high on Saturday.

The Rodney Parade region have been established as Wales' fourth region in most minds for quite some time and the last-eight tie can be big step towards changing perceptions.

The Dragons have enjoyed more notable successes on their travels than on home soil this season with players musing that perhaps they have thrived when the pressure is off.

Well sorry boys, the heat is well and truly on this weekend and the hosts need to deliver.

Any defeat to Cardiff Blues is a painful one but the hurt would be even deeper this time with the Dragons lamented an opportunity missed for years to come while a famous victory against fierce rivals could lead to the Rodney Parade club shop doing a roaring trade in DVDs, let alone T-shirts.