THE Dragons' must- clash with Zebre on Saturday will be refereed by Joy Neville – with the trailblazing Irish official taking charge of her first Guinness PRO14 clash on foreign soil.

The former Ireland back row forward from Limerick is no stranger to breaking new ground in the men's game – last November she became the first woman to referee a Principality Premiership game when taking charge of Ebbw Vale's loss to Pontypridd at Sardis Road.

The following month she made the calls in the European Rugby Challenge Cup fixture between Bordeaux-Begles and Enisei-STM then in February she made her PRO14 bow.

Neville, named World Rugby's ref of the year in 2017, was in charge of Ulster's comprehensive win over the Southern Kings in Belfast and this weekend will be her first appointment as referee in Wales.

Last weekend she assisted South African whistler Quinton Immelman at the Royal Dublin Society on Saturday when the Dragons were downed 52-10 by Leinster and now the highly-rated official will take centre stage at Rodney Parade.