NEWPORT Gwent Dragons Premiership Select coach James Chapron hopes their blend of youth and experience will help them get the British and Irish Cup campaign off to a flying start in Galway on Saturday, writes Chris Kirwan.

The Dragons open up the cross-border competition with a tricky trip to Connacht Eagles while the English pair of Jersey and Doncaster Knights clash in the other Pool Five encounter.

Hooker and captain Hugh Gustafson will be among the senior Dragons players to feature alongside academy talent and a smattering of Premiership players.

The Connacht encounter will see the full-time regional players joined by locks Ashley Sweet (Ebbw Vale) and Adam Brown (Newport), flankers Scott Matthews (Cross Keys) and Luke Crocker (Ebbw Vale), wing Elliot Frewen (Newport), centre Adam Jones (Ebbw Vale) and fly-half Josh Prosser (Cross Keys).

Academy manager Chapron said: "We couldn't run it on our own – we don't have the depth of squad at the moment – and we have some high performing Premiership clubs so it would be foolish not to look at those players.

"Galway is a tough place for a senior player to go, let alone an 18-year-old, so it would be a baptism of fire and it's important that we have that experience."

"It's great to have someone like 'Gus' captaining us," he continued. "If he plays well then there's the opportunity for him to move up to the seniors, which is what we'd love to happen, but in the mean time it's fantastic to have someone with his experience and values who works really well with the younger guys.

"This is a great tournament for development. Last year, when we had a really good relationship with Cross Keys, the likes of Ollie Griffiths, James Benjamin, Ashton Hewitt and Dorian Jones all impressed and have been given the chance to kick on."

Former Pontypool boss Chapron will head a coaching team featuring Keys head coach Greg Woods, who is a Welsh Rugby Union development officer based at the Dragons' Ystrad Mynach training base, and former Wales scrum-half Richie Rees, who took up the role of academy skills coach in the summer and plays for Keys.

Ebbw Vale backs coach Nick Wakley, who was in charge of the Dragons' victorious Singha Premiership 7s side, will join the management team when time allows.