Bernard Jackman has claimed new fans will be attracted to support the Dragons, now they have dropped links with a club they used to “hate”.
Arriving in the midst of a rebrand of the region – now simply the Dragons having dropped the ‘Newport Gwent’ that previously preceded it – head coach Jackman will be charged with matching the overhaul off the pitch with results on it.
But the former Ireland hooker also believes the region-wide neutrality of the name will enable fans who used to view Newport as the enemy to feel a new affection for the team.
Jackman says: “For me the exciting thing is the amount of people who say they support us now because it’s just the Dragons.
“I understand that because a big part of Irish rugby and Irish culture and also French culture, which I’ve been involved in for five years, is that parochialism.
“You represent your village, your town, and the rivalry is a massive part of that. There has been a huge rivalry in Gwent, and then you ask people to support what seems to be something that you usually hate, and I understand that.
“People are saying now they want to get behind the Dragons, we have to sell that. So I believe people follow people. If we’re good people, honest, hard-working, open, transparent, put ourselves out there, people will then follow that.”
Jackman has vowed to turn things around at the Dragons – on and off the field – as part of a three-year plan.
The Dragons have finished fourth out of the four Welsh regions on all but one occasion since 2010 – but in new head coach Jackman they have a man with a plan.
That won’t be easy. The former Grenoble coach is only too aware of the recent record of his new team.
But after honing his coaching skills in the Top 14, Jackman has set out an ambitious plan to get the Dragons challenging once again.
He said: “This year the target is to put a stamp on it. Then in year two we want to really push on and hopefully by year three we’re competing for trophies. That’s how quickly I want it to happen.
“If we get massive progress in year one well great, but it’s an ambitious project – the players are ambitious, the coaches are ambitious, the union’s ambitious – everyone wants to be the best Welsh region and that’s a compliment to the others.
“I think that Scarlets and Ospreys particularly are really good role models for us, so we can say that we want to be as good as them because we’ve all gone through the same pathways.
“We don’t have the same money as them at the moment but we’ll hopefully get there, but we’ve got the same constraints and the same advantages. Our goal is to be the best Welsh region on and off the field and we just need to work bloody hard to get there.”
Pre-season has not been easy for the Dragons, with defensive struggles to the fore most notably on a trip to France to take on Montpellier and Northampton Saints.
But all that will be forgotten when Leinster visit Rodney Parade for the opening game of the season – a fixture with extra meaning for Jackman after he spent five years in Dublin.
His time in the Guinness PRO14 as a player gave Jackman some understanding of the complexities of the Welsh set-up, and it is something he has become even more acquainted with since arriving in Newport.
Jackman explains the reaction he has experienced since the change of name has generally been positive, with the team making a conscious effort to increase engagement with fans.
He added: “We can tap into history in terms of what Gwent teams have done in the past and the traditions of Newport rugby and the traditions of Valleys rugby.
“But we’ve got to bring it all under the umbrella of the Dragons and be a region that people are proud to support and the next generation want to play for.
There’s certainly no shortage of ambition in what Jackman is trying to achieve. Whether he can manage it within the timescale of his three-year plan remains to be seen. Unquestionably, however, Jackman is in this for the long-term and that can only be a good thing for the Dragons.
