CAPTAIN Cory Hill is relishing the Dragons' daunting European Challenge Cup group – saying clashes with heavyweights Clermont Auvergne and Northampton will give the region a taste of their Champions Cup target.

The Rodney Parade region open their campaign in Romania on Saturday with a game against Timisoara Saracens (kick-off 12.30pm) that needs to yield five points given the tricky ties ahead against teams usually in the premier tournament.

Clermont, 2017 French champions, are leading the Top 14 and have a glut of world class performers while Northampton boast Wales fly-half Dan Biggar and England internationals Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes and James Haskell in their ranks.

The Dragons were semi-finalists in 2015 and 2016 but need to respond to last weekend's derby disappointment against Cardiff Blues with a dominant display in Timisoara to stand a chance of getting out of Pool One.

"You want to get straight back on the horse and we are going out there to get a five-pointer to start our European campaign with a bang, then it is back home for a good hit out against the Saints," said Wales lock Hill.

"We've had a good couple of runs in Europe over the last few years and the boys really seem to enjoy it. You get a good couple of trips and we have been to Romania before, we know what to expect.

"It's a Champions Cup group – Clermont are on fire and Northampton have made some cracking signings to strengthen their side.

"it's the biggest test that we could have had but we have spoken about getting into the Champions Cup in the future, that's our goal and we have got a Champions Cup group that we will go head first into.

"It will be great to have big clubs here at Rodney Parade in front of big crowds, seeing massive European games. We will have a good go at it, hopefully getting through the group."

The change of tournament is timely for the Dragons after their PRO14 frustration against the Blues, losing the lead in the final quarter to see their streak of league derby defeats stretch to 22.

Hill, set to be named in Wales autumn squad next Tuesday, insists that the region are making strides despite the loss to their biggest rivals.

"I was gutted, absolutely gutted," said the captain. "The boys really fronted up and it was a typical derby, a very fierce encounter with big hits, which was nice.

"Our defence was pretty good and we were on top for a lot of the game, it was just a couple of lapses of concentration that killed it for us at the end.

"Look at our performance and it was an improvement, we all know that. We know we are building something but it was a derby game we wanted to win and we were very disappointed, there was a lot of emotion in the changing room.

"It was a loss and we have to pick ourselves up and look at those lapses to put them right. We were on top and controlled the first half, scoring two good tries."

Those efforts by fly-half Josh Lewis and wing Jared Rosser earned a 12-0 lead that got Rodney Parade rocking and Hill was disappointed not to reward the supporters' loyalty.

"We wanted to come out the first block of six games with three wins. We really targeted the Blues game and couldn't have asked for a better start," he said. "We spoke about getting on top in the first 10 minutes and kicking on from there.

"The crowd were brilliant, they really got behind us. We got them singing early doors and our tails were up, but a couple of lapses of concentration [cost us], with those operators that they have got behind the Blues pounced on it.

"But everyone watching can see that there are massive improvements out there [from us] in defence and attack."

Hill started when the Dragons last travelled to Romania - a 37-10 win against Bucharest Wolves in freezing conditions in December, 2014.

Head coach Bernard Jackman has pledged that the region will travel to Timisoara "fully loaded".