ADAM Warren wants the Dragons to find their European spark to break their away drought and record a win that would give them a golden shot at a return to the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.

The Rodney Parade region open their campaign with a pair of away trips with a clash with Newcastle at Kingston Park on Saturday followed by journey to Moscow to face Enisei-STM.

With Pool One also featuring Top 14 big guns Bordeaux-Begles, the Dragons desperately need to emerge triumphant from one of their away days.

Last season they beat Brive, Worcester and Enisei-STM in Newport – taking 14 points from 15 – only to suffer a trio of costly losses on the road.

The Dragons haven’t won away from Rodney Parade in any competition since stunning Gloucester at Kingsholm in the last eight in 2016, a nightmare streak of 22 games (25 including derbies at Principality Stadium and Caerphilly).

“We need to focus on getting that away win,” said centre/wing Warren. “We normally play our best rugby in Europe so hopefully we can keep that spark and beat one or two teams away and then win all our home games to go through.”

The Dragons head into the Challenge Cup on the back of a first Guinness PRO14 block that has yielded 10 points from six games.

They have won in fine fashion against Connacht and Southern Kings but ran out of steam at Cardiff Blues last weekend to see a 21-10 half-time lead turn into a 43-29 defeat.

Their attacking rugby gave reason for optimism with Warren scoring the first of four tries that earned a consolation bonus.

“It was a bit of a tough one to take because in the first have we played some good rugby but then in the second half we just couldn’t clear our lines and ended up defending for the whole half,” said the 26-year-old.

“There were plenty of positives in our game and the tries that we scored were outstanding. Two of them were from turnovers as well, so it shows that we’ve got the intent to move the ball.

“On the flip side the small details like clearing our lines are what we need to improve on.”

Warren has been a mainstay of the side since heading east from the Scarlets in the summer of 2015.

He started in every game of 2015/16 and then played in 27 of 32 games last season when his campaign was ended early by a toe injury.

Warren sat out the first five rounds of this season because of knee and hamstring niggles but is now eyeing a place in the highly-competitive back line.

“I am back fully fit now, I felt good out there and I’ve got to keep training hard to fit in with the boys,” he said after playing on the right wing in Cardiff.

“Obviously I’d rather be at centre but I have played a lot of rugby on the wing and I am comfortable there.

“There’s a lot of competition there though with Hallam Amos, Ashton Hewitt and the young boys flying through. It’s the same in the centre – there will be tough competition all year and all that I can do is train my best all through the week.”

The Dragons name their team for Kingston Park at midday on Friday, although Jackman has stated that he won’t make sweeping changes because of a lengthy injury list.

The Rodney Parade region played Newcastle in the 2014/15 Challenge Cup, losing to the Englishmen at Rodney Parade before a wonderful 40-29 win at Kingston Park secured quarter-final qualification.

The teams met in a notorious Anglo-Welsh Cup fixture in Newport last season when the game was played in farcical conditions.

The Falcons won 18-6 with the game abandoned after 69 minutes because the pitch, since revamped with a hybrid surface, was waterlogged.

The other Pool One fixture sees Enisei host Bordeaux-Begles, fifth in the Top 14 thanks to a weekend win against Toulon, on Friday.

France internationals Baptiste Serin, Nans Ducuing, Loann Goujon, Jefferson Poirot and Clément Maynadier have not been registered in Bordeaux’s European squad.