THE European knockout derby between Newport Gwent Dragons and Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade was the occasion that we all hoped it would be.

A near sell-out crowd was treated to a tense Challenge quarter-final between fierce rivals with a fantastic atmosphere both in the ground and outside it.

The supporters’ village, a feature of the Tony Brown Newport era, made a return thanks to the backing of BT Sport and proved to be a hit, contributing to an event to make the sporadic punter look at the fixture list to plot another trip.

Of course, a home win helped and former Dragons captain Kevin Morgan was spot-on in his pre-match observation that the Rodney Parade faithful had a vital role to play.

Barring a spell in the first half when the wind was understandably taken out of their sails by Gareth Anscombe’s try that made it 14-3, they backed their charges to the hilt and kept them going when they were frantically defending their line at the death.

“One of the best atmospheres I've had at a game,” the Dragons’ former Hurricanes, Highlanders and Chiefs back row forward Nick Crosswell tweeted afterwards.

The support was tremendous at a proper rugby venue and showed why so many Guinness Pro12 teams are both wary and excited by the challenge of coming to Rodney Parade.

However, the pre-match comments of Cardiff Blues back row forward Josh Navidi were worrying.

“It’s not intimidating for me personally because I don’t feel the crowd but my mother and father say it’s the worst crowd to listen to and the most horrible!” he said.

That’s a reputation that the Dragons don’t want. It’s a fine line between partisan and horrible but if the region is to get more punters through the turnstiles then Rodney Parade needs to be passionate but welcoming, as it was last Saturday.

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THE group stages of the Challenge Cup are a hard sell but, as I predicted last autumn, the competition has gone up a fair few notches now that there is knockout rugby.

Three of the quarter-finals were tense affairs with Newport Gwent Dragons, Gloucester and Edinburgh all celebrating wildly after clinging on.

The semis promise to be just as tight with the Dragons aiming to upset the odds at Murrayfield and the Cherry and Whites hoping that the Kingsholm factor helps them edge out tournament favourites Exeter.

There is still much to improve about the second tier tournament – chiefly giving the winners automatic entry to the Champions Cup – but the Twickenham Stoop final should be a great occasion.

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TREDEGAR’S 182-7 loss to Brynmawr, a latest heavy defeat for a struggling famous club in Division Two East, was no laughing matter.

Nor is Blackwood’s plight at the bottom of the Swalec Championship, struggling to fulfil fixtures and fresh from 53-3, 92-5, 74-5 and 74-7 losses.

Abersychan, Rhayader and Old Tyleryan have all been finding life tough in Division Three East D, just about keeping the score from hitting three figures.

It’s not all about the winning but such results make it all the tougher for the volunteers and officials who give up their time while the fun factor is gone for players, who look for other clubs or even other pastimes.