DIRECTOR of rugby Lyn Jones says victory against Stade Francais is crucial if Newport Gwent Dragons are to be taken as serious contenders for the European Rugby Challenge Cup.

The Dragons qualified for the quarter-finals by winning Pool Three thanks to a stunning 40-29 victory in Newcastle last weekend.

They still have seedings to play and Jones believes victory against the Parisians, who are joint leaders of the Top 14, will send a message to their last-eight rivals.

"The win in Newcastle reinforces what we are doing and signifies that we are on the right course but we need to back it up with a strong performance against Stade Francais," he said.

"They may rest players for European matches but are still big boys and a hell of a good rugby team, so we need to be at our best.

"If we are to be realistic contenders for this title then we need to put a strong performance in and win against Stade.

"At Newport Gwent Dragons, we've had none over the years and have been the whipping boys of every competition. We've qualified but need to qualify with credibility and go on to the final and show what we can do."

And Jones wants his charges to show some consistency by backing up a super display in Newcastle by triumphing on their own turf, something they failed to do after success on their travels to Stade Francais and Cardiff Blues.

"We need to stop doing that and when we get at home we need to deliver a strong performance and get the bits together that bring the positive result," he said.

A bonus point victory would ensure that they are ranked second behind Gloucester while a regulation win could see them drop beneath Exeter.

Potential opponents on the first weekend of April are Cardiff Blues, Newcastle or Connacht but Jones believes all eight qualifiers will be "of a high standard and much of a muchness".

The Dragons give a final start to Taulupe Faletau before they lose him to Six Nations duty while Stade Francais may not have registered a number of their big guns for Europe but can still start with Samoa full-back Paul Williams, former New Zealand rugby league international Krisnan Inu in midfield, Australia wing Digby Ioane, South Africa fly-half Morne Steyn and France scrum-half Julien Dupuy.