Dragons will relish Champions Cup chance, says Dean Ryan
- Published
Dragons were beaten 41-20 by Scarlets on the final weekend of the Pro14 season despite this Adam Warren try
Director of rugby Dean Ryan says Dragons "can't wait" to take part in next season's new-look Champions Cup.
Dragons will feature in Europe's premier competition for the first time since 2010-11.
They are one of eight Pro14 teams, along with Scarlets, who have qualified for the Champions Cup.
"We're over the moon at the prospect of playing against some of the best sides in Europe," Ryan said.
"We're going to have a ball, we're really going to enjoy it because that's where we want to play.
"It's a huge buzz for players to think about it, playing against some of the very best sides in the English Premiership and Top14. That overrides everything. We can't wait."
The Champions Cup has been expanded to 24 teams for one year only, with a new format in place because the rugby season has been condensed as a result of Covid-19.
Dragons and Scarlets will represent Wales with Ospreys and Cardiff Blues in the second-tier Challenge Cup.
Champions Cup qualification was based on finishing positions after round 13 of league matches - the point when the Pro14 season was suspended because of coronavirus in March.
The top four European sides in each of the two Pro14 conferences went into the Champions Cup, with Dragons making it despite being fifth in Conference A as one of the sides above them was Cheetahs, who are not eligible for continental competition as they are South African.
Despite winning two more matches and recording nine more league points than Dragons over the course of the whole season, Cardiff Blues missed out on a Champions Cup place, eventually finishing sixth in Conference B.
"Every person who works in sport wants to be involved at the top and our players aren't any different," Ryan added.
"It doesn't mean our resources won't be challenged or that the match-ups won't be interesting, but we can't help but get excited. We're delighted to be there, irrespective of what the challenge is."
Dragons are still involved in the 2019-20 Challenge Cup, with a quarter-final to come against Bristol Bears on 18 September.