THE Dragons will host Edinburgh in the finale of the Guinness PRO14 – the day after the leaders of the conferences clash for the trophy.
The showpiece final of the tournament takes place on Saturday, March 27 when two Irish sides meet, with Leinster currently being chased by Ulster in Conference A and Munster looking to stay ahead of Connacht in Conference B.
The winner of the championship will be decided before the regular season is completed because of the Dragons’ twice-postponed fixture with Edinburgh.
They were supposed to welcome the Scottish side to Rodney Parade in the autumn only for the fixture to be pushed back because the Dragons' coronavirus quarantine meant there were safety concerns due to a lack of preparation.
A new date was agreed for earlier this month only for the game to be postponed for a second time because of a frozen pitch.
There are no more free weekends before the planned conclusion of the conferences.
The teams will now meet on Sunday, March 28 (kick-off 2pm) in an encounter that will decide final placings – and potentially influence Champions Cup qualification.
The Dragons are currently fifth in Conference A, two points ahead of Zebre and a point back on Glasgow. The chances of catching the third-placed Ospreys are slim.
Edinburgh are also fifth but have games in hand on both the Scarlets and Cardiff Blues so could yet head to Newport chasing a win that would put them in Europe’s premier tournament.
The fixture will take place the week after the Six Nations so international players, depending on their need for rest, could feature if there is the carrot of the Champions Cup.
The PRO14 is followed by the Rainbow Cup with suggestions that the South African sides could play all games in Europe.
Meanwhile, the Dragons will travel to Bridgend for a Welsh derby against the Ospreys on Saturday, March 6 (kick-off 7.35pm).
They had a bonkers Anglo-Welsh Cup clash at the Brewery Field in 2014 when they ran out 51-35 winners.
The six-try Dragons led 48-0 early in the second half before the Ospreys ran in five scores of their own.
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