Young Dragons eye Euro final

Newport Gwent Dragons' director of Rugby Lynn Jones says his side have more rugby to play in Europe this season ahead of their Challenge Cup semi-final meeting with Edinburgh at Murrayfield.

The Dragons are the sole remaining Welsh region in European action this season and have hit a rich vein of form of late, seeing off Leinster for the second time this season last time out.

Tonight's semi-final will be the Dragons' second in the second tier of Europe after reaching the same stage in the competitions previous format back in 2007, losing 46-29 to Clermont Auvergne.

Should the progress pass tonight's semi-final, it would be the first time the South East Wales region has reached European finals - and for Jones that is the expectation he wants his side to carry into the game.

"We haven't come to the end of the competition yet and our aspirations are to make the final and to win," he said.

"At the start of the season we would have been delighted to have reached this stage and playing Edinburgh away in Murrayfield is going to be a great fixture.

"It's nice to see lots of support going up from Newport Gwent Dragons. It's as if supporters are like seeds lying dormant in the ground, waiting for a little bit of rain to come and have something to come out for, something to grow for, something to play for and it's great to see so many people getting pleasure from a little bit of success from the Dragons. It's long overdue."

The Dragons' youthful side have developed into the form side in Wales after a disappointing early season, in which they managed just three wins in their opening 13 games.

Since then, though, they have found their stride in both the league and cup, culminating in a season double over Pro 12 Champions Leinster last time out.

And that momentum is, Jones says, a sign of a developing side finding their feet.

"We had a good victory against Leinster, and a very good Leinster side too, and Edinburgh got stuffed against Munster but I don't really think any result will have an impact on Friday night's encounter.

"The challenge for us is to raise our standards to take on the physical game Edinburgh are trying to develop.

"We're still a young group of players who need to play. We don't have 28-year-olds, 30-year-olds who we need to protect - we don't have that.

"Every game that comes in front of us we're learning, we're maturing, we're developing - and likewise, the Edinburgh fixture is going to be just that as well.

"It's just another fantastic experience en route to becoming the best we can be."