The Black and Ambers came the closest of the Welsh sides to qualifying for last season’s semis but went down to eventual winners Cornish Pirates in the last round of pool games.
Head coach Sven Cronk hopes that experience will give his side heart ahead of this campaign, saying: “We felt we were a bit unlucky not to beat Cornish Pirates last season but we can’t look back, we have to use that to build towards this season.
“We wholeheartedly embrace this competition and we’re looking forward to getting started against Leinster who are a mix of young academy players and experienced Leinster players.
“This competition is certainly a step-up for us. You get limited scoring opportunities that you have to take and your defence needs to be spot on too.
“We have a number of injuries at the moment but we have been strengthened this week by some Dragons squad players such as Lewis Evans, Adam Jones and Nicky Griffiths and we know the Dragons management will be watching the game to see who performs well.
“The addition of the quarter-final stage means two teams can qualify from each group, which is an extra incentive for all participants.”
These weekend’s Round 5 matches were scheduled for the weekend of February 26 but have been brought forward to avoid clashing with RBS 6 Nations fixtures.
All other clubs in the competition enter on the weekend of December 11 with the regular Round One fixtures.
British & Irish Cup Round 5
Friday, October 15, 2010
Pool B Munster v Llanelli 19:30 Waterford Regional Sports Centre
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Pool C Swansea v Ulster 14:30 St Helen’s
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Pool D Llandovery v Pontypridd 14:30 Church Bank
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Pool A Newport v Leinster 14:30 Rodney Parade
