THE Dragons will travel to South Africa just once in the Guinness PRO14 this season – heading to Port Elizabeth to face the Southern Kings in March and welcoming the Cheetahs to Rodney Parade.

The fixtures are yet to be officially announced but Bernard Jackman will start his reign with a home encounter against his former Leinster side – the ex-Ireland hooker won the Heineken Cup with the men from the RDS in 2009 – on the weekend of September 1.

The clash is the big occasion that the Dragons wanted to kick off a new era under the ownership of the Welsh Rugby Union and with a new boss at the helm.

It also gives new recruit Zane Kirchner a swift reunion with his former side and provides the chance to avenge last season’s 54-22 humiliation at the hands of the Irish province.

The Dragons then face a trip to Edinburgh and home encounter with another of the new head coach’s former sides, Connacht.

They have been put in Conference B of the revamped tournament along with the Scarlets, Leinster, Ulster, Edinburgh, Treviso and the Kings, facing each of them home AND away.

The Dragons will also play Cardiff Blues and the Ospreys home and away while they will go up against Munster, Connacht, Glasgow, Zebre and the Cheetahs just once.

That means they won't travel to Galway this term while their home clash with the Cheetahs means a visit to Bloemfontein won't happen in 2017/18.

The full schedule will be announced next week along with exact dates for the first 13 rounds.