NEWPORT must cope without captain Ollie Griffiths and three of his fellow Dragons young guns for their Principality Premiership encounter with old foes Cardiff in the capital tomorrow, writes Chris Kirwan.

Flanker Griffiths, wing Ashton Hewitt, centre Barney Nightingale and tighthead Alex Jeffries will all be among the regional contingent that pull on Cross Keys jerseys in the British and Irish Cup clash with Doncaster.

A consolation is that Cardiff will find themselves in the same boat with some of the players expected to head up the A470 to play for Pontypridd against London Scottish.

Had the Black and Ambers won at Pandy Park in the Gwent qualifying final then they would have parachuted players into their side.

However, following the 31-12 defeat to Keys they rearranged league fixtures against Cardiff, Ebbw Vale and Bedwas to fill the void in their schedule.

The result is that their young Dragons are unavailable for the trip to the capital but head coach Sven Cronk, while hindered by their absence, hopes the British and Irish Cup experience benefits the burgeoning talent.

Shining in the cross-border competition with Newport proved to be a passage to full-time deals for Andrew Coombs and Mike Poole while the likes of Adam Hughes, Pat Leach and even Taulupe Faletau (who played in the games against Exeter and Plymouth in 2009) profited from going up against tough opposition.

“While it’s difficult to deal with we are committed to developing four young players and the British and Irish Cup is the next step up for them,” said Cronk.

“As a club we are fully behind the development aspect of the Premiership, we buy into it whereas some don’t. We take great pride in our track record of developing players and it’s up to us to manage the situation.”

Newport’s plight isn’t helped by experienced campaigners Brendan Lampitt and Andrew Brown facing three months out following shoulder and bicep surgery respectively.

Sam Feehan will continue to slot in at number eight in Lampitt’s absence while there are plenty of options at hooker and Brown will continue to play a part in the development of Will Evans, Dale Rogers and Evan Whitson.

The Blue and Blacks sit fourth in the table thanks to wins against Llanelli, Bridgend and Llandovery with a home loss to Keys their sole disappointment.

Newport, meanwhile, have lost three of four and were frustrated to have to settle for a losing bonus point in Bridgend last weekend after being edged out 29-25.

“It was a frustrating performance and we had plenty of opportunities to finish the game off when six points clear,” said Cronk. “We can’t afford to waste so many chances and turn so much ball over in the 22.”