WHO is on the back foot now? Who's under pressure this week? It's none other than Wales' favourite Englishman Rob Andrew.

Only a few days ago the former England fly half, long since Newcastle's director of rugby, was heading out to the south-west corner of France from his north-east base at his bullish best.

He was cock-a-hoop, having seen his side climb to fourth in the Zurich Premiership and top Group Five of the Heineken Cup having seen off Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade, Edinburgh home and away and Perpignan at Kingston Park.

Andrew was off to Perpignan full of hope and confident of becoming the first English team to be sure of making it through to the quarter-finals of Europe's main competition.

He even had Jonny Wilkinson back in his ranks after all his problems, and set to make a rare appearance at a Press conference the day after tomorrow ahead of the Dragons return match in his own back yard.

But what's that about the calm before the storm? How about pride coming before a fall? One weekend, and it's all starting to crumble for Andrew who instead of looking forward to a bit more baiting of the Welsh, instead of being triumphalist all week he's got to be looking at himself in the mirror, at best worrying about the prospect of facing the Dragons and at worst dreading it.

Far from easing through to the last eight, Andrew must now be wondering whether they will make it at all. How the balance of power has shifted, maybe it will be a case of how the mighty are fallen.

Newcastle are still in the driving seat it has to be said, for if they win on Sunday it will be all over, they will be through and the Dragons will be glad not to have to listen to Andrew because, just as Newcastle did in the first match, they are getting out as quick as they can on the first available flight back to Wales.

But just look at how the picture has changed for Andrew and Newcastle. Not only did they lose against Perpignan, but they conceded a bonus point in their bearpit of a stadium and they lost Wilkinson into the bargain.

The England ace is not just out of Sunday's match, but misses the Wales-England clash and the next four to six weeks with yet another injury, this time damaged knee ligaments.

Wherever Andrew looks he can't find a replacement either at outside half or as a place kicker. Dave Walder, who basically kicked the Dragons to defeat in the rain at Rodney Parade, is also out with a knee injury and Australian star Matt Burke is likely to be missing as well with the same complaint.

On top of that Andrew has doubts about centre Jamie Noon, concussed against Perpignan, and the loss of prop Marius Hurter has left their scrum exposed. Perpignan crushed them in that area, and the Dragons can do some real damage there on Sunday.

But they, like the French and Scottish, rarely excel on the road.

But surely this time the Dragons will respond and rise to the occasion.

Before getting a bit too clever about the Newcastle return, the Dragons have also got injury problems and they came a cropper big time on their last European adventure in Perpignan.

There was some expectation then, too, but though they knew the French team would be fast out of the blocks they failed abysmally to stem the tide and got swamped in the first quarter when it was game over.

Taking as read that the lessons have been learnt, the Dragons have got a real chance this time because of the sudden disarray and scrum and goal kicking weaknesses in Newcastle's ranks.

The Dragons would be well advised to scrum and scrum again in training this week, for dominate there and they will be more than halfway to victory.

They clearly have the ability behind to cause some damage as well, even allowing for injury worries about Gareth Cooper, Nathan Brew and Hal Luscombe.

After that it will be out of their hands, Perpignan sure to go through if they beat Edinburgh at Murrayfield with a bonus point which would leave the Dragons clinging to the hope of qualification via one of the two best runners-up places.

But first the Dragons must beat Newcastle, preferably with a bonus point. I bet it's Rob Andrew, not Chris Anderson who's sweating this week!

The Dragons would be through now if they hadn't slipped up so badly at home to Newcastle, and Anderson was right when he said at the time that it could come back to bite them.

If only Llanelli Scarlets hadn't given away a soft try two minutes from the end against Northampton, the Dragons could be in the driving seat for best runners-up spot, but now they're relying on another Welsh region, Neath-Swansea Ospreys, beating Castres.

That could well happen for the Ospreys are showing their mettle. For such a new side to push Munster, the most experienced team in Europe, so hard and even gain an official 75% possession was remarkable.

The Ospreys, with Gavin Henson and Shane Williams blooming, whereas Munster are on the wane, so it's not all gloom and doom in Wales, though only the Dragons are in with a shout of making the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.

Newport won handsomely 34-21 at Newcastle three years ago, and Wilkinson was playing then. Jason Forster was in the Newport team - now he's leading the Dragons.

So it's all to play for. The Dragons can breathe fire, they can do it and they can silence Andrew.

Now that would be some achievement.