WHEN leaving Murrayfield on October 11 there was genuine fear for the direction that Newport Gwent Dragons were going in.

They had just put in a woeful performance that had seen them hammered by Edinburgh with the 24-10 scoreline flattering a depressing display in front of the Sky cameras.

They were shapeless in attack, lacked bite and kicked both frequently and poorly.

Things looked grim but the Rodney Parade region's season has turned into a roaring success regardless of how things unfold on their return to Scotland tomorrow evening.

If the Dragons win at Murrayfield and earn the right to take on Gloucester or Exeter in the Challenge Cup final at the Twickenham Stoop – a first final in their 12-year history – then the campaign will clearly be an unqualified triumph.

But if they lose to Alan Solomons' side, who have also improved greatly since the Guinness Pro12 fixture, then I've still seen enough progress to feel optimistic about the future.

Covering the Dragons has been a joy since they avoided a frozen banana skin in perishing Bucharest.

They have a record of 12 wins from 17 games since December with more marvellous moments than in the previous three or four campaigns combined:

- a win against Cardiff Blues in the capital for the first time in 11 years

- a stunning bonus point victory in a winner-takes-all clash in Newcastle

- doing the double over Stade Francais

- a first ever win against Leinster in Dublin

- a first league success in Treviso (with a first away four-try bonus since 2004)

- home wins against title hopefuls Ulster and Leinster

- the Challenge Cup quarter-final victory against Cardiff Blues.

And it's the manner in which the Dragons have achieved the success that has made supporters beam with pride.

In recent years the region has lost its reputation for being bloody-minded yet the current crop have rediscovered their snarl and are holding their own at the scrum, thriving with their driving lineout and being pains in the backside at the breakdown.

They are playing with spirit that has rightly earned raucous backing from their fans in the stands and on the terraces.

Against Ulster, Cardiff Blues and Leinster they have been under the pump and trailing only to dig deep, stay in the game and then take the spoils.

And while they still like to put boot to ball and go long, caring little for possession stats, they have played some rugby that has thrilled and looked much more of a threat with ball in hand.

Perhaps it is just that they have benefited from having specialist centres to choose from after their early-season midfield headache but a doff of the cap must also go to Shaun Connor, who was permanently appointed backs coach in February.

And the beauty is that there is much more to come from the Dragons with plenty of burgeoning in a back line that had an average age of 22 against champions Leinster.

Hallam Amos and Tyler Morgan, 20 and 19, will no doubt be on the international stage in the build-up to the World Cup this summer and there is a wealth of burgeoning talent behind the dual-contracted pair.

Jack Dixon, Elliot Dee, James Benjamin, Ollie Griffiths, Joe Davies, Luke Garrett, Harri Keddie, Angus O'Brien, Lloyd Lewis, Leon Brown, Barney Nightingale, Alex Jeffries will be among those guided by seasoned professionals.

Coaches waffle on about having a good culture and environment but there is undoubtedly a different feel at the region's Ystrad Mynach training base thanks to the canny introduction of overseas recruits Rynard Landman, Boris Stankovich, Nick Crosswell and Brok Harris to go with established and respected Dragons Lewis Evans, Ashley Smith, Hugh Gustafson, Pat Leach and Rhys Thomas.

The 'roaring success' part in the fourth paragraph would be enough to make those at Scotstoun, Allianz Park, RDS, Stade Feliz Mayol and even Liberty Stadium spit out their tea given that the Dragons sit in ninth place in the Pro12 and are competition in the second tier European competition.

But their achievements must be put into context – the region had only played knockout rugby twice before (2007 Challenge Cup and 2011 Anglo-Welsh) while they have been the bottom Welsh region in eight of 11 campaigns and haven't enjoyed a top-half finish since 2005.

Now try telling me that 2014/15 hasn't turned into a joyous, encouraging campaign and deny us a summer of believing the Dragons are building something.