WING Ashton Hewitt hopes to help Newport Gwent Dragons take their first step towards qualification from their European Rugby Challenge Cup group tomorrow night after injury denied him knockout rugby last season.

The 21-year-old from Caerleon was a key figure in the pool stages in 2015/16, scoring tries against Pau, Castres and Sale Sharks.

However, Hewitt's breakthrough season at Rodney Parade was ended in March when he suffered a shoulder injury that needed surgery.

Not only was it a blow that ended his chances of pressing for a place on Wales' tour to New Zealand but it denied him the chance to star out wide in the Challenge Cup quarter-final against Gloucester, the speedster watching on as his teammates upset the odds at Kingsholm before their plucky performance in defeat at Montpellier in the last four.

If the Dragons are to enjoy a third successive season of knockout European rugby then they need to get off to a flying start when Brive head to Newport tomorrow evening (kick-off 7.30pm) before a trip to face Enisei in Russia and a December double-header with Worcester.

And Hewitt hopes to profit from the expansive style of rugby that has led to them claiming the scalps of Stade Francais, Pau, Castres and Bordeaux-Begles.

"In the Challenge Cup we always seem to play a bit more freely, especially against the French teams," said the winger, who came off the bench in the 2015 semi-final defeat to Edinburgh at Murrayfield.

"We have played a lot of open rugby and scored a lot of points, so hopefully we will run their big team around.

"French teams do like to play a bit but I think Brive will keep it tight and use power play in our half. They have some big boys out wide as well as in the pack, so we will all have our share of putting in tackles."

Hewitt made his Dragons return in the Guinness Pro12 loss to Treviso last month but missed out against Glasgow and the Scarlets at the expense of Pat Howard.

The South African has made a bright start to life at Rodney Parade while Wales wings Hallam Amos and Tom Prydie ensure competition is fierce for starts on the flank.

Hewitt hopes that featuring in a winning team will help push his case for inclusion and believes it's just fine tuning that will turn narrow defeats into victories for the Dragons.

"Winning is a habit and it's just that last bit now to tip us over the edge into winning these games. Those crucial moments in the game, that's the difference at the minute but we are not miles off," he said.

"There's no excuse of us being young anymore. Me, Hallam, Angus (O'Brien), we've all played plenty of rugby and have played against most teams in the league.

"There's not a lack of experience and we do have leaders in the team in the likes of Lewis Evans and Rhys Thomas. We just need a bit of momentum.

"Winning does become a habit and if we get on a bit of a streak, win these two games and score our fair share of tries that will give us momentum into the Pro12."