SHAUN Connor insists the Dragons will return to Newcastle with the daring approach that upset the odds two years ago for the start of their European Rugby Challenge Cup campaign.

The Rodney Parade region open up against the English side (kick-off 3pm) in Pool One, which also features French big guns Bordeaux-Begles and Russia’s Enisei-STM.

The Falcons have started the Aviva Premiership in strong fashion to sit fourth in the table after the first block but Kingston Park proved to be a happy hunting ground for the Dragons in January, 2015.

Lyn Jones’ side ran in six tries on the plastic pitch, five of them in the first half, in a stunning 40-29 success that earned qualification for the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup with a group game to spare.

New boss Bernard Jackman may have tinkered with his XV that lost at Cardiff Blues because of a tough October on the road that sees them head to Moscow next week and then take on the Ospreys in Swansea, but Connor says they don’t intend to go into their shells.

“Two years ago we went up there and got a bonus point victory so it doesn’t hold any fears for us,” said the former fly-half.

“We respect them, as we do any team, but we are concentrating on ourselves with a few guys coming back into the team.

“We’ve got two away games to start and we are going to Newcastle with the intention of playing positive rugby and have scored four tries in both of our last two games [against Southern Kings and Cardiff Blues].

“We are going to play the type of rugby we’ve played for the last five or six weeks. A lot of our best performances have been in Europe, and away from home as well.

“There is no fear for us in Newcastle and we are going to have a crack at them – it’s an opportunity for our guys and we have to be positive.”

Away form is the key to the Dragons progressing in the competition and it was their downfall last season.

They took 14 from 15 points at Rodney Parade but lost at Enisei, Worcester and Brive to crash out at the group stages for the first time in three years.

They haven’t won outside Newport in any competition since their last-eight upset at Gloucester in 2016 but Connor knows that must end in either Newcastle or Moscow.

“You need to win away and we’ve got two to start,” he said. “We have spoken about wanting to turn Rodney Parade into a fortress, so those games you have to win if you want to qualify.

“Newcastle have a lot of strength in depth and are full of quality, so we are expecting a stern challenge.

“They have been together for a number of years now as a coaching group and you can see that their game has evolved over time.

“We played them last year at Rodney Parade when conditions weren’t great and they still tried to play attractive rugby. We are trying to do the same but they are a little bit further down the line with their development.

“We are going there with a positive mindset and they will also have that, so it should be an exciting game for supporters.”

Newcastle: S Hammersley, A Tait, M Mermoz, T Flood, A Radwan, J Hodgson, S Stuart; R Vickers, B Sowrey, T Davison, W Witty, S Robinson, M Wilson (captain), G Graham, R Burrows.

Replacements: J Blamire, A Brocklebank, S Wilson, G Young, W Welch, R Dawson, C Cowell, C Harris.

Dragons: W Talbot-Davies, A Hewitt, J Rosser, A Warren, G Gasson, A O’Brien, S Pretorius; L Garrett, L Belcher, L Fairbrother, J Davies, M Screech, A Wainwright, O Griffiths (captain), J Benjamin.

Replacements; G Ellis, T Davies, B Harris, R Landman, J Thomas, O Leonard, G Henson, P Howard.

Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)