THE Dragons will get their United Rugby Championship campaign under way against Edinburgh in Scotland.
The schedule has been announced for the URC with dates and kick-off times to follow shortly.
Dean Ryan’s men head to the DAM Health Stadium, in the shadow of Murrayfield, for the first time on the weekend of September 16.
They have home advantage in round two when they entertain Munster – with new fly-half JJ Hanrahan going up against his former teammates – and then host the Sharks.
In October, fixtures with the Italian duo of Benetton and Zebre sandwich a pair of key derbies when Wales hopefuls will look to stake a claim for autumn action with the short trip to Cardiff followed by the Newport clash with the Ospreys, winners of the inaugural Welsh Shield.
The festive schedule sees Cardiff head to Rodney Parade, likely to be on Boxing Day, a trip to Llanelli then a home fixture with the Bulls.
The Dragons host the Scarlets on the final weekend of the season with the Ospreys-Cardiff clash raising the possibility of a Judgement Day double-header.
They have a South African tour at the end of November when they take on the Lions and Stormers, with the first fixture clashing with Wales' game against Australia that is outside World Rugby's Test window.
The Dragons will be expecting a big improvement on their nightmare 2021/22 campaign, which featured just two wins and no successes at Rodney Parade.
Ryan has brought in Dai Flanagan as head coach and signed nine new players – Hanrahan, full-back/fly-half Angus O’Brien, centres Max Clark and Sio Tomkinson, looseheads Rhodri Jones and Rob Evans, hooker Bradley Roberts and locks George Nott and Sean Lonsdale.
The Dragons have also turned scrum-half Lewis Jones’ loan into a permanent deal and brought in Wales Under-20s prop prospect Nathan Evans from Cardiff.
The Dragons have a trio of pre-season friendlies with home fixtures against Bristol on Friday, August 26 and Wasps on Friday, September 2 followed by a trip west to face the Scarlets on Friday, September 9.
DRAGONS URC FIXTURES
Round 1: Edinburgh (a) – September 16/17/18
Round 2: Munster (h) – September 23/24/25
Round 3: Sharks (h) – September 30/October 1/2
Round 4: Benetton (a) – October 7/8/9
Round 5: Cardiff (a) – October 14/15/16
Round 6: Ospreys (h) – October 21/22/23
Round 7: Zebre (h) – October 28/29/30
Round 8: Lions (a) – November 25/26/27
Round 9: Stormers (a) – December 2/3/4
Round 10: Cardiff (h) – December 23/24/25
Round 11: Scarlets (a) – December 30/31/January 1
Round 12: Bulls (h) – January 6/7/8
Round 13: Glasgow (h) – January 27/28/29
Round 14: Leinster (a) – February 17/18/19
Round 15: Connacht (h) – March 3/4/5
Round 16: Ospreys (a) – March 24/25/26
Round 17: Ulster (a) – April 14/15/16
Round 18: Scarlets (h) – April 21/22/23
EUROPEAN CHALLENGE CUP FIXTURES
Wasps (a) - December 9/10/11
Pau (h) - December 16/17/18
Pau (a) - January 13/14/15
Wasps (h) - January 20/21/22
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