Dragons face Scarlets, Ospreys, Munster and Ulster on home soil in this season’s Celtic Cup after the full fixture list for the competition was confirmed.
There have been changes made to the organisation of the Celtic Cup for its second season.
Last year there were two Conferences, split into Irish and Welsh teams, with the winner of each contesting the final. This year all teams will be ranked in one league with the top two contesting the final on Saturday, 12 October.
Dragons will launch their Celtic Cup campaign with an away game at Connacht Eagles on the weekend of 23-25 August.
The first home fixture will be against Munster A on the weekend of August 30/31. The kick off times and venues for each game will be confirmed at a later date, with Dragons exploring opportunities to take the fixtures into the community.
There are three rounds of regional derbies in Wales – on 6-8 and 13-15 September, plus 4-6 October.
Cardiff Blues provide the opposition on the first weekend of September before Dragons face home games against Scarlets on September 13-15 and Ulster Ravens on September 20-22.
The penultimate group game is an away trip to Dublin to face reigning champions Leinster A on September 27-29, with the competition pool stages finishing with a home game with Ospreys in October 4-6.
“The Celtic Cup is a fantastic curtain-raiser to the new league season,” said Matt O’Brien, Dragons Academy head coach, “With the Rugby World Cup going on, the Celtic Cup provides a great opportunity for fans to enjoy rugby close to home and see some of the new faces and young talent we have in the region.”
“We really enjoyed the competition last year and the young players in our squad took a huge amount from it. This season we’ll look to have a mix of young talent and experienced players involved and we’re keen to improve on our record.
“Our Academy players will train with the seniors from late July, as we step up preparations ahead of the new campaign, and with seven Celtic Cup games on the bounce it’s an intense period with full training weeks in the professional environment.
“The Irish teams have real depth and strong A sides so they’ll provide a stern test again alongside the Welsh regions.”
This season’s Celtic Cup competition will run alongside some of the early rounds of the Indigo Group Premiership and the first round of the Specsavers Cup, in Wales. It will also take place while the Rugby World Cup is being played in Japan.
The opening round of the Guinness PRO14 will be on the weekend of 27-29 September, which means there will be a clash of fixtures over the last two league weekend and for the Final.
2019/20 Dragons members will have free admission to see all four home Celtic Cup fixtures as part of their membership, on top of access to the ten Guinness PRO14 home fixtures, three European Challenge Cup games and the clash against Scarlets pre-season. CLICK HERE for more details
CELTIC CUP FIXTURES 2019
Aug 23 - 25
Cardiff Blues v Leinster
Munster v Ospreys
Scarlets v Ulster
Connacht v Dragons
Aug 30 - Aug 31
Leinster v Scarlets
Dragons v Munster
Ulster v Cardiff Blues
Ospreys v Connacht
Sept 6 - 8
Munster v Leinster
Ulster v Connacht
Cardiff Blues v Dragons
Scarlets v Ospreys
Sept 13 - 15
Connacht v Munster
Leinster v Ulster
Dragons v Scarlets
Ospreys v Cardiff Blues
Sept 20 - 22
Ospreys v Leinster
Munster v Cardiff Blues
Dragons v Ulster
Connacht v Scarlets
Sept 27 - 29
Leinster v Dragons
Scarlets v Munster
Ulster v Ospreys
Cardiff Blues v Connacht
Oct 4 - 6
Connacht v Leinster
Ulster v Munster
Cardiff Blues v Scarlets
Dragons v Ospreys
Saturday, Oct 12
Final
