NEWPORT Gwent Dragons Premiership Select XV will try to learn the lessons from a chastening summer experience when they lock horns with Ealing Trailfinders in the British and Irish Cup this weekend.

The English Championship side travel to Cross Keys on Saturday (kick-off 3pm) not only buoyed by opening their campaign with a 51-35 success against Yorkshire Carnegie but by a pre-season win at the Dragons' Ystrad Mynach training base.

Plenty of players that turned out for the hosts in that 41-21 August loss, which was played in horrendous wintery conditions, will feature at Pandy Park in what is a must-win game for their hopes of qualification in the cross-border competition.

The Dragons showed plenty of spirit to emerge from their opener at Bedford with a four-try bonus point and a victory against the Trailfinders would set them up nicely for a December double-header with Yorkshire, who are Leeds rebranded.

"Ealing will play a different type of rugby to Bedford, who threw the ball around and engaged in an open, expansive game," said academy boss James Chaprton.

"They will be a bit more structured and their set piece will pose more threat, while they bring line speed in defence and have confidence from their performance in the summer. If Ealing get two wins from two they are in pole position, so they are going to be gunning for us.

"They are big and physical up front but can also play (expansive) rugby, they are not just one-dimensional. The summer proved that if we are not on our best game then it will be tough for us.

"But we are looking forward to the challenge and if we have any ambitions of getting out of the group then we have to target a win."

The Dragons rallied against Bedford to secure a consolation for their efforts thanks to tries by fly-half Arwel Robson, full-back Will Talbot-Davies, centre Barney Nightingale and wing Pat Lewis.

The spirit shown by a young side – the only member of the backs who isn't a teenager is 21-year-old scrum-half Owen Davies – pleased Chapron, who has demanded further progress against the Trailfinders.

"We wanted to get something out of Bedford and we did that, while it was our first game together so I'd hope some of the errors that we made won't be repeated," he said.

"The majority of our back line was our U18s from the season before last, so for them to stand up and play as well as they did was pleasing.

"We took the lead, lost it, then regained it and then when the game did look like getting away from us we came back and really pushed for a second bonus point.

"Whilst it's not perfect, and we don't want to be happy losers, the character of the squad was encouraging."

The teams will be named at midday (FRI) with the Dragons forced into a change at number eight with Harri Keddie on Challenge Cup duty in Russia.

Ealing boast a raft of players with Gwent links in their squad and last week fielded former Newport and Dragons Academy scrum-half Josh Davies, on-loan Dragons lock Scott Andrews, former Pontypool second row Sam Pailor and ex-Cross Keys utility back James Cordy Redden, while former Ebbw Vale supremo Alex Codling is their head coach.