IRELAND assistant coach Declan Kidney is set to become Newport Gwent Dragons' new coach today.

And current Dragons captain Andy Marinos will be the new chief executive, retiring from regular top class rugby to take on a completely new role.

The former Ireland A and Munster coach is expected to replace Mike Ruddock, who has now officially taken over as Wales coach though combining that role with his Dragons' job until the end of next week.

Kidney has watched the Dragons' last two games against Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade and Connacht in Galway and has met the main officials.

He arrived in Wales last night, and is set to sign a contract as new Dragons coach.

He will become the first Irish coach at Rodney Parade, either with the Dragons or the old Newport side, and he will be the only non-Welsh coach in the five Welsh regions.

He will join David Young (Cardiff Blues), Lynn Howells (Celtic Warriors), Lyn Jones (Neath-Swansea Ospreys) and Gareth Jenkins (Llanelli Scarlets).

Kidney has got a terrific track record in Ireland. A former outside half with University College, Cork, and Dolphin, he began his coaching career with Munster Schools and Irish Schoolboys, moving on to Ireland Under-19s in the World Cup.

Then he took over with Munster and his most successful period in coaching, guiding the top Irish province to three successive inter-provincial titles, two Heineken Cup finals and one semi-final.

He also coached Ireland A and was promoted to the full Ireland squad as assistant, but apparently fell out with the heirarchy and was offered a lesser job with the juniors.

Marinos becomes a completely new face in the Dragons' administration, and his choice as chief executive is a surprise to many.

But he has a background in accountancy and marketing back in South Africa and will attempt to make rapid inroads into an area where the Dragons have made little headway as a new entity.

Marinos replaces David Jenkins and will work closely with Dragons benafactor Tony Brown after four years as a player at Rodney Parade when he also won seven caps for Wales after qualifying on residency.

Ruddock rates Marinos very highly as a captain, but after leading the team to a marvellous season he will step down as a full-time player though he could make the odd appearance at either regional or club level in an emergency.