THE prize could hardly be greater for Newport Gwent Dragons today.

Beat leading French team Clermont Auvergne at the Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin and they will become the first Welsh region to reach a European final.

The Dragons take the field in their Challenge Cup semi-final two-and-a-half hours earlier than Llanelli Scarlets in their Heineken Cup semi against Leicester, so the honour could be theirs - the carrot is dangling before them.

But they are under no illusions about the size of the task.

Clermont are second in the French League ahead of great teams like Toulouse and Biarritz, they boast an unbeaten home record this season and they possess a United Nations team with stars from France, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Italy and Fiji.

They receive huge financial backing from Michelin and in terms of squad size and quality they are in a different league from the Dragons. They are also favourites to win the trophy for the second time.

And to make it even harder the Dragons will be without their talismanic figure Colin Charvis, ruled out by damaged elbow ligaments.

But fortune favours the brave and the Dragons have got to be brave.

If they can dredge up one more mighty effort, if they withstand the expected early onslaught and adopt a trench warfare outlook, they have got an outside chance of springing one of the biggest shocks of this or any other season.