AGAINST all the odds Newport Gwent Dragons are not just holding their heads above water in all three competitions, they are in some respects flying the flag for Wales.

After a dismal start to the season when they lost their first three games for the first time and with the proposed stadium redevelopment on hold because of the credit crunch, all manner of gloomy predictions were being made for them.

But they recovered to such a degree that they won their next four games in the Magners League, EDF Energy Cup and Heineken Cup and on Sunday came the best of the lot at Bath.

It’s not often that a team earns so many plaudits in defeat, but the sheer magnitude of their performance totally justified the widespread praise they have received.

They may have won four on the bounce, but they were against supposedly lesser teams and, mindful of their hiding against Munster in Cork, many, including myself I have to say, were expecting something similar at the Recreation Ground.

Bath had, after all, taken the Guinness Premiership by storm, leading Leicester by three points at the top with some free flowing rugby and they even went to Toulouse on the opening Heineken Cup weekend and scored two tries to nil before throwing it away at the end.

It appeared a step too far for the Dragons, but was it heck as they produced just about the most complete defensive performance I’ve ever seen.

Putting bodies on the line didn’t even come close, it was more like Rorke’s Drift and Custer’s last stand rolled into one as wave after wave of attacks were repulsed. Even when they were twice reduced to 14 men they didn’t yield and Bath couldn’t score one point in those 20 minutes.

Though under the cosh for most of the match, they shall not pass was the catchword as the Dragons put in tackle after tackle, ironically conceding the only try through a misdirected pass that was scooped up on the bounce.

Three penalties earned them a losing bonus point which had been unimaginable before the game and it keeps them right in the group when they could well have been out of it.

Yet for all the post-match euphoria, even in defeat, skipper Tom Willis – rapidly turning into Captain Marvel – wondered what all the fuss was about.

Sporting a cut head, he complained disarmingly: “We lost didn’t we?” That’s the New Zealand mentality for you I suppose, but no-one on this side of the bridge was disappointed and with more dare-devil spirit and leadership like this the Dragons can be a major player even in a tough European group.

Who can say after this that the Dragons will get beaten in Toulouse in December – I now believe they can beat the French aces and Bath at Rodney Parade to throw a real spanner in the works.

But before we get completely carried away, there are steps that need to be taken. The squad is still threadbare in a couple of positions, a new backs coach needs to be appointed with Dai Rees leaving while a board meeting would be a good idea at last to discuss plans for next season on and off the field.

The Dragons are not in any mess, certainly in nowhere near as bad a state as the underperforming Scarlets as they enter a new stadium, while the Ospreys board are complaining about the region not being viable with poor attendances and an expensive squad.

Only Cardiff Blues seem to be sailing along relatively serenely with, as I predicted a fortnight ago, the best hope of a Welsh region making it through to the last eight of the Heineken Cup.

But the Dragons are up there fighting, the least fashionable region maybe, but with an honesty, commitment, spirit, integrity and work ethic that the other regions would die for.