NEWPORT Gwent Dragons are in advanced negotiations with Rynard Landman over a new contract and are confident of the South Africa lock turning down offers from regional rivals to stay at Rodney Parade, writes Chris Kirwan.

Landman is in his third season with the Dragons and the 30-year-old and his representatives have been discussing fresh terms with chief executive Stuart Davies and head coach Kingsley Jones.

The forward will be Welsh-qualified in 2017 and, while a Test call-up is highly unlikely, the fact he will no longer count towards the overseas quota of six plus two time-servers has attracted the interest of the Scarlets and Cardiff Blues.

However, the former Cheetahs forward is in talks to stay in Newport with the minutiae of the package all that stands in the way of him putting pen to paper.

The Dragons value Landman but have contingency plans and will not break the bank for the South African, who had a storming first campaign in Wales but has been troubled by a calf problem this season.

He has made 64 appearances for the club and it is in their favour that they can offer him a better shot at regular first team rugby than in Llanelli or the capital, although he is no longer a shoo-in given the form and rise of the recently capped Wales lock Cory Hill.

Influential South African tighthead Brok Harris, 31, also becomes Welsh-qualified next autumn after arriving from the Stormers and Western Province in the autumn of 2014, with the Dragons also keen to retain his services.

The pair were among the seasoned campaigners that were given the weekend off while the Rodney Parade side kicked off their Anglo-Welsh Cup campaign at Leicester. The Tigers romped to a 42-3 success at Welford Road with the Dragons shipping six tries.

“We struggled at the set piece and in the first half we made too many errors and couldn’t build any pressure,” lamented coach Shaun Connor.

“I must have sounded like a madman (when 27-3 down) at half-time because I thought that a lot of our defence was really good but their points came from our errors and turnovers.

“But the players that came on had a positive impact and there were a lot of youngsters on at the end. It will be a massive learning experience and will serve 19 and 20-year-olds well in the future to have come to a place like Welford Road.”

Five players made their regional bows at Leicester – tighthead Leon Brown, Bedwas lock/back row Robson Blake, flanker Josh Skinner, fly-half Arwel Robson and full-back Will Talbot-Davies.

The last of that quintet came off the bench when Wales wing Tom Prydie failed a fitness test on a tweaked knee.

The Dragons welcome the Scarlets to Newport on Friday and then return to Guinness Pro12 action with a home encounter with Edinburgh the following weekend.