HUGH Gustafson knows that the Newport Gwent Dragons Premier Select can ill afford a sluggish start if they are to progress from their tough British and Irish Cup group, writes Chris Kirwan.

The Dragons start the cross-border competition with a tricky trip to Galway to face Connacht Eagles on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 2.30pm) before welcoming Jersey to Cross Keys' Pandy Park a week on Sunday.

Then they will have a December double-header with a Doncaster side who are sitting third in the IPA Championship and are fresh from a stunning 39-27 win against Bristol at Ashton Gate.

The Knights did the double over a Keys side featuring a raft of Dragons in last season's tournament when they won every game until being beaten by Worcester in the final.

The Yorkshiremen will start as group favourites but the Eagles fired a warning with an impressive 43-24 win against Leinster A in Dublin last weekend and captain Gustafson knows how challenging the Sportsground is.

The 28-year-old hooker came off the bench in the Dragons' Guinness Pro12 loss to Connacht on opening night, a defeat that stretched the region's losing streak in the west of Ireland to 11 games since their 2004 win.

"Any team that goes out to Galway knows they are in for a tough game but if we are going to succeed in this group then we need to leave with something," said the hooker.

"It's a hard place to go but it's new for a lot of these boys so isn't daunting. They have no fears or worries about where they are going after previous defeats.

"It will be a tough challenge but we are looking forward to it and have a great blend of senior Dragons, Premiership players and outstanding young talent coming through the academy.

"I look forward to leading a group who I believe can do something special in this tournament."

The Dragons warmed up for the tournament with friendly against Harlequins, going down 31-20 in an entertaining encounter at the Twickenham Stoop.

The ball-in-play time in London showed the step up required for the academy talent who have been performing in the Principality Premiership and Gustafson, who played for Keys in last year's BIC, believes it presents a golden opportunity to impress.

"It's a great standard of rugby for the younger boys trying to get into the Wales Under-20s squad, Premiership players trying to get their foot in the door and regional players trying to get back into the first XV.

"We have three tough teams in our group and there's a style that we want to play but against all of them we have to front up in the first 20 minutes and our set piece will need to be good.

"We want to play at a high tempo and preparation has been good. Greg and James (Woods and Chapron, coaches) have stressed that time is important and everything has been short and sharp."

The Dragons name their team at lunchtime with regional captain Rhys Thomas set to feature after eight weeks on the sidelines with a foot problem.