THE turnover of players and staff has been dramatic at Rodney Parade over the past five years but it is vital that those Dragons who don’t have the baggage of past misery understand just how important Saturday is.

Every season starts with hope and that was certainly that case in 2013 when Lyn Jones took the reins fresh from enhancing his reputation with London Welsh in the English Premiership.

Things started really well with a triumph against Ulster that was followed by successes versus the Scarlets and Zebre mixed in with plucky away losses to Edinburgh and Munster.

The season tailed off badly but a record of seven wins and a draw (plus five losing bonuses) gave reason for optimism that the Dragons had a platform to build from.

They didn’t.

In fact, so many times have we been told that foundations are being laid that the ground floor at Rodney Parade should be higher than the Chartist Tower.

Sometimes the past can weigh heavy on shoulders yet it is important that those on the books realise just why there is so much frustration from supporters and well-wishers.

As a rule it is way, way too early to be panicking while there is still cricket being played, but the Dragons are no ordinary case.

New recruits will have done a bit of research and will have known the region’s history before putting pen to paper. Brandon Nansen is the only summer arrival who is not Welsh-qualified, so one hopes the years of underachievement haven’t been missed by any of the 14 new boys.

The prospect of being part of the Dragons’ development was no doubt a factor in heading for Rodney Parade, along with the wage, but this isn’t just game two along the road to better times. History cannot just be ignored, it must be understood by the summer arrivals.

Just eight players that featured in the league in the first campaign of the Lyn Jones era in 2013 remain on the books – locks Cory Hill and Matthew Screech, back row forwards Lewis Evans and Nic Cudd, hooker Elliot Dee, wing Hallam Amos and centres Jack Dixon and Tyler Morgan.

Three more, wing Aston Hewitt, lock Joe Davies and flanker James Benjamin, made appearances in the Anglo-Welsh Cup that year.

There is a greater churn of players in modern rugby but things have been even more dramatic at Rodney Parade.

The Dragons list 44 players on their senior squad page of the club website yet six of them arrived for last season and 14 new boys were signed for the current campaign.

Nobody in the camp has denied that the Dragons were dire on opening night against Benetton yet it’s crucial that they realise that supporters, those who have been there since the start, are impatient for good reason.

This may be a new-look team but those punters fear age-old weaknesses.

The recent arrivals may have caught a glimpse of comments sections or social media and considered messages of gloom and despair to be an overreaction to a poor 80 minutes.

If they do then I would advise the players to have a word with Lewis Evans or Nic Cudd and the staff to have a chat with analyst Will Precious or kitman Jeremy Vizard, two real stalwarts who deserve some good times.

They can give a clue as to why folk are disgruntled and fearful after just one round.

The number of individuals at the Dragons with links to the past – largely a miserable past, but an important past – is diminishing yet those people should play a pivotal role in hammering home the importance of responding swiftly to Benetton.

I am confident the Southern Kings will be beaten but then there needs to be a strong showing in Dublin and then another win against Zebre at Rodney Parade.

But fail to achieve that and those venting their frustration from the stands won’t just be doing so because of a sorry September, this goes back further than that even if it is a new regime.

South Wales Argus:

REACHING the pinnacle and earning a cap is a wonderful achievement, the result of hard graft and sacrifices.

Being an international is an indication of being a fine player and the rise of the number of such individuals at Rodney Parade gives hope for the future.

Yet stating that 12 of the starting XV for Benetton had been capped was factually correct but a little misleading.

Promising back row forwards Aaron Wainwright and Ollie Griffiths have around half an hour between them on the Test stage.

Lock Brandon Nansen has played for Samoa three times with his sole start when they had a monstrous lead against Germany for the second leg of a World Cup qualifier.

Tighthead Leon Brown won three caps last autumn, off the bench against Australia and New Zealand and a start against Georgia.

Scrum-half Rhodri Williams won three caps as a sub back in 2013/14, wing Dafydd Howells won a pair in Japan when the Lions were touring Australia in 2013 while centre Tyler Morgan has just four outings because of injury.

Of the internationals in the Benetton XV only Cory Hill and Hallam Amos are players that you would consider to be regulars in Warren Gatland's squad while Gavin Henson and Richard Hibbard used to be influential Wales figures and Ryan Bevington was a good squad man when appearing 13 times.

The rest can rightly feel proud to be among Wales' 1,148 internationals (and Nansen to have followed in the footsteps of some icons for Manu Samoa), but the Dragons are not yet in a position to say they are blessed with big Test beasts.

Hopefully that will change over the coming seasons with the Wales novices establishing themselves on the international scene.