NEWPORT Gwent Dragons coach Chris Anderson believes the team possess the tools to do the job against Newcastle on Sunday and secure a last gasp qualification for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup.

Anderson was delighted with the Dragons' eight-try demolition job on Edinburgh on Saturday which gives them a chance of getting through to the knock-out stages, the only Welsh team still in with a shout.

"It takes a while for the confidence to come through, but now we've given ourselves a good chance," he said.

"This is our big test and we've got to build on the Edinburgh game, our confidence has been a bit cranky and we let them beat us here. It's a big game now on Sunday and we need to be up for it."

Anderson is also happy with the form of various individuals.

"Luke Charteris did very well, he picked up a couple of balls, scored a try and handled well," he said.

"Hal Luscombe is a classic ball runner, big and strong, Kevin Morgan has been playing well all season and Percy (Montgomery) carried the ball more. If they can all continue playing like that we'll be tough to beat."

Anderson also revealed he tried to buy Matt Burke, Newcastle's full back and former Australian World Cup star, when he was coaching the rugby league Down Under.

Anderson admitted Burke played a key role in Newcastle's victory at Rodney Parade in October. "He was a big influence. I know him well, I tried to buy him for rugby league as a 15-year-old, he was the best schoolboy back I'd ever seen," he said.

Meanwhile, Newcastle director of rugby Rob Andrew has hit back at accusations of arrogance levelled at him by the Dragons, as revealed in later editions of yesterday's Argus, after their visit to Rodney Parade.

"I have a great regard for Welsh rugby and have many good friends in the game from Wales, so I was extremely surprised to see this comment from Jamie (Ringer) in the Press," said Andrew.

Ringer questioned his attitude after dashing off after the game, but Dragons captain and Anderson joined in, Forster admitting there was needle and Anderson saying they didn't need that sort of thing.

They were replying to Andrew's comments questioning the Celtic League by saying no-one had put the then second-in-the-table Dragons under pressure and it would be interesting to see how they would respond to it.

Andrew explained their quick departure by saying, "Yes, the team did not attend the post-match hospitality, the reason being we had to make a 5.30pm flight from Bristol Airport to Newcastle to attend a function for the wife and children of Soa Otuvaku, a Falcons player who tragically died of a brain tunour last year.

"I don't accept that I acted arrogantly in doing so and I'd hope people would check the facts before making such a statement to the media."

l Small parts of both the south and west stands at Kingston Park were damaged by the weekend storms and last night's Newcastle FC reserve game (they share the ground) was called off.

But the damage is being repaired and there is no threat to Sunday's Heineken Cup-tie. The ground capacity is 10,200 and with hundreds expected to travel to support the Dragons for such a key game, the match is expected to be a near sell-out.

l Jonny Wilkinson hopes to be fit again within a month following his latest injury frustration. The Newcastle and England lynchpin suffered untimely medial ligament damage in his knee playing for Newcastle at Perpignan on Saturday - just as he was looking set to return to the international fold after a year of injury problems.

The official prognosis remains four to six weeks out - which will mean he is unavailable for England's tough opening matches in this year's RBS 6 Nations - but the fly-half has not given up hope yet.

Determined to retain some optimism in his column for The Times, he writes: "Someone, somewhere is smiling on me.

"That, perhaps strangely, is the way I am looking at things right now. Four to six weeks out, I'm told - but I'm looking for a month."