DRAGONS chief executive Rhys Blumberg said last autumn that the ambitious owners talked, hopefully tongue in cheek, about the possibility of chasing Antoine Dupont.
Forget about the Toulouse superstar, the Rodney Parade club need more like Nick Crosswell, Brok Harris, Joe Bearman.
The Dragons are having another miserable season and that has led to last summer’s recruitment being put under the microscope.
“I’ve been disappointed with the summer’s work to be frank,” said David Buttress, co-owner with Wright and Hoyoung Huh, on social media after the exit of head coach Dai Flanagan at the end of the first block.
“We can and must do much better, we have owners willing to put more money in, we have to get the structure right off the field to make the most of that investment.”
It is a key time on that front with a decision to be made about who leads the Dragons next season after the departure of Flanagan, whose exit has been followed by things getting worse rather than better.
Whoever is calling the shots will need to get squad-building right, with work already well under way for retention and chasing targets.
There is no point beating around the bush, the Dragons are a hard sell. They aren’t big payers; they aren’t on the cusp of becoming a winning team.
That means the club needs to sell a long-term project and also take a few punts, find value in those undervalued elsewhere or take advantage of situations.
The ‘if only’ moments haven’t just come on the field after narrow defeats.
The Dragons were close to tempting influential Tongan lock Sam Lousi east from the Scarlets, the previous summer they had a deal agreed with South African second rower Deon Slabbert only for personal circumstances to scupper the move.
TARGET: The Dragons talked to Gareth Anscombe but the Wales international opted for Gloucester (Image: PA)
Gareth Anscombe was targeted to provide experience at 10 but Gloucester were a more attractive in terms of rugby, not financially or contract length.
Rhys Patchell was previously on the radar but exciting opportunities in New Zealand and then Japan won the day rather calling the shots in Newport.
The hope is that having a head recruitment, Jonathan Westwood, can make a difference and get more deals sealed after that role was previously left unfilled due to finances.
His task when working with the coaching staff is to ensure there are more hits than misses, and in recent years that hasn’t been the case.
Of the 2024 arrivals only one – flanker/lock Shane Lewis-Hughes – has a tick next to his name.
Lock Steve Cummins has been unfortunate with head injuries while Tongan back rower Solomone Funaki arrived with a knee injury and only got a first taste of match action last weekend for Pontypool in Super Rygbi Cymru.
Fly-half Lloyd Evans was pushed out by Anscombe’s arrival at Gloucester and has yet to convince; he needs to grasp his upcoming chances and show something after injuries to Cai Evans and Angus O’Brien.
Hooker Oli Burrows arrived from Exeter as one for the future while centre Harry Wilson, the most eye-catching signing, has failed to fire since coming over from the Waratahs.
STRUGGLING: Australian back Harry Wilson is yet to fire for the Dragons (Image: Gruffydd Thomas/Huw Evans Agency)
Granted, he only showed brief flashes of promise in the opening weeks of the season but I would argue the 24-year-old should have been given opportunities in the Challenge Cup.
The Dragons have shelled out for the Aussie and should have tried to play him into form so that he can be judged properly.
The influx from 2023 didn’t have any big hits either: full-back Cai Evans, wing Corey Baldwin, scrum-half Dane Blacker, prop Rodrigo Martinez, flanker Dan Lydiate.
There is an acknowledgement that the Dragons need a big turnover this summer with fresh blood needed to help in the development of Huw Anderson, Harry Rees-Weldon, Harri Ackerman, Morgan Lloyd, Che Hope, Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, Nick Thomas, Ryan Woodman, Evan Minto.
The club will have to look outside Wales and recent events have emphasised the importance of overseas recruits.
The Dragons will watch on as their three Welsh rivals take part in the last 16 of the Challenge Cup at the start of April.
Knockout rugby could have provided a wonderful high, just as it did in 2015 and 2016 when the Dragons made it to the semi-finals.
Five players started in both quarter-final wins against Cardiff and Gloucester – Harris, Crosswell, Phil Price, Dorian Jones and Hallam Amos.
LEGEND: Brok Harris (right) with fellow South Africans Sarel Pretorius, Rynard Landman and Carl Meyer after the Dragons' win in Gloucester
The matchday squad at Kingsholm also featured Rynard Landman, Sarel Pretorius, Carl Meyer, Boris Stankovich, Shaun Knight, Ed Jackson and (Welsh-qualified) Charlie Davies.
There are some influential overseas players in the above list, going to show that recruits don’t need to have the star quality of interim head coach and Ospreys favourite Filo Tiatia, Xavier Rush, Ben Blair, Percy Montgomery, Gary Teichmann, Justin Marshall or Regan King.
Crosswell is a perfect example of what the Dragons need to attract.
The New Zealander played 56 games over two and a half seasons at Rodney Parade; the lock/flanker was versatile, uncompromising, hard-working, influential and low maintenance.
South African Harris – who is 40 next month and still playing for the Stormers to make a mockery of the 2021 decision to look for a younger model in the front row – had the same strengths in his seven campaigns as a Dragon.
Cornishman Bearman showed that there are gems in England’s second tier after arriving to play for Paul Turner’s side from the Pirates.
After five dynamic campaigns the back rower moved west to chase silverware with the Ospreys, and did just that in his first season when they stunned Leinster in Dublin to win the 2012 title.
Times are tough for the Dragons currently but it’s not all doom and gloom, there are some promising prospects on the books who need to be nurtured.
Attracting dependable, durable, influential players to Wales from other countries is vital if the club is to close the gap to their rivals, and they don’t need to be star names.
