Newport Gwent Dragons will play an A fixture against the Ospreys at the Brewery Field, Bridgend on Friday 23rd February (kick off 7.15pm).
Dragons Head Coach Paul Turner believes that a game at A level is needed to bridge the gap between regional rugby and the Principality Premiership. These games will also help develop the academy members and give fringe squad players some match practice.
England's Guinness Premiership runs a very successful A League and speaking on the format Paul Turner said, "The A format will allow us to blend a team including fully professional, Premiership and development players in a competitive environment and at a standard which gives us a stepping stone between the Premiership and fully professional level. It should provide a platform for up and coming talent to show what it has to offer, be it from the Premiership or academy structure and it also allows us to develop the regional concept through staging these fixtures at venues around our region. After my experience in England where they've had a full blown A team league for the last four seasons I think starting this off is a must to develop our region and give more benefits to any up and coming players who want to play for The Dragons."
