NEWPORT Gwent Dragons boss Lyn Jones has hammered home to his charges that breaking their Treviso duck is vital in the build-up to their European showdown with Cardiff Blues.

The Dragons travel to the Stadio Monigo in the Guinness Pro12 tomorrow evening (kick-off 7.30pm) and seven days later they welcome their Welsh rivals to Rodney Parade in the quarter-final of the Challenge Cup.

The odds are long about the men from the capital heading east on a winning note as they travel to title hopefuls Ulster tonight while on paper the Dragons have an easier task against 11th-placed Treviso.

If the ninth-placed Blues are downed in Belfast then the Rodney Parade region can leapfrog their rivals with victory – but they have never beaten Treviso on Italian soil.

Director of rugby Jones knows that a seventh away win of the season would be perfect preparation for the derby battle.

"What's important against Treviso is that we come through unscathed and momentum is very, very important," he said.

"The Blues have Ulster away (tonight) and we have Treviso away, whoever does well will benefit the following weekend in the quarter-final.

"People do have an eye on that game and we have talked about it. We are looking at Treviso to work on weaknesses in our game to ensure that we get it right against the Blues. We hope to ensure that we enter that game in the best possible state."

It's not only the Dragons' woeful record in Treviso that is preventing them from being complacent because they were stunned by bottom club Zebre in Parma at the start of the month.

Jones said: "We went to Leinster and registered a victory and then thought we could just travel out to Zebre and they would lie down. Although we did enough to win we didn't win.

"We have to be doubly determined and understand that we have to take our opportunities when they arise.

"Treviso have had a lot of good victories at home this season (against Zebre, the Blues and Ospreys) and we understand the challenge ahead of us."