ACADEMY boss James Chapron has told the Newport Gwent Dragons youngsters that they have to impress against English full-timers in the British and Irish Cup if they are to harbour hopes of making it as professionals.

The Dragons Premiership Select XV kick off their campaign at Bedford this afternoon (SAT, kick-off 3pm) in a group that also pits them against Ealing Trailfinders and Yorkshire Carnegie.

Flanker Josh Skinner, of the Dragons and Cross Keys, captains the side while there are six members of the 22 who have played senior regional rugby – centre Barney Nightingale, lock Joe Davies, number eight Harri Keddie and Newport RFC captain Adam Brown in the XV along with Dragons tighthead Lloyd Fairbrother and Cross Keys back rower Ieuan Jones on the bench.

Bedwas hooker Alun Rees, Black and Ambers loosehead John Lavender, Ebbw Vale back row Rhys Clarke and Cross Keys' Wales 7s international Ethan Davies are also among the replacements.

The starting line-up features 13 players on the Dragons' books and Chapron expects them to send a message to head coach Kingsley Jones.

"If they have got any aspirations of being professional rugby players they have to stand up at that next level," he said.

"They going up against professionals, not semi-professionals, who are better conditioned and better organised as we found out last year.

"It's a higher standard of competition and if our players are going to make that next step then they have to perform. It's all well and good training, doing the gym work and doing your skills, but a coach will pick you on what you do on a Saturday."

The Dragons will try to emulate their opening to the 2015/16 tournament when they beat Connacht in Galway and Jersey at Cross Keys before a powerful Doncaster side doubled them in December to all but end their qualification hopes.

They don't have the experience of that side, which was captained by Hugh Gustafson, and they are also going up against a Bedford side that thrashed Pontypridd twice in pre-season, winning 66-14 in Wales and 52-12 at Goldington Road.

"(Former Wales and Cardiff full-back) Mike Rayer coaches them very well and they play quite an expansive game," said Chapron. "They do like to throw the ball around a bit along with that traditional English structure, so they have a nice mix to their game.

"All three teams will be physically challenging for us. Yorkshire Carnegie are doing well at the top of the Championship and we saw what Ealing can do in the summer (beating a Dragons development side in pre-season).

"It's probably a tougher group than last year and we will have to get better every game."

Bedford, who head into the game on the back of Championship victories against Richmond and Rotherham, give a debut to goal-kicking Australian lock Byron Hodges.

Bedford: E Clement-Hill, G Perkins, M LeBourgeois (captain), T Griffiths, D Adamson, M Dorrian, T Whiteley, C Parilli-Ocampo, S James, C Judge, M Howard, W Carrick-Smith, E Taylor, J Buggea, J Hill. Replacements: G Edgson, H Thompson-Stringer, B Walker, B Hodge, J Blanchet, J Burns, J Sharp

Dragons: W Talbot-Davies, P Lewis, B Nightingale, C Edwards, J Rosser, A Robson, O Davies, K Bale, E Shipp, L Brown, J Davies, A Brown (Newport), A Waite (Bedwas), J Skinner (captain), H Keddie. Replacements: A Rees, J Lavender, L Fairbrother, R Clarke, I Jones, O Leonard, E Davies.