RaboDirect PRO12
'I will fight to save the Dragons'
ESPN Staff
January 2, 2013
The Newport Gwent Dragons prepare for action, London Wasps v Newport Gwent Dragons, Anglo-Welsh Cup, Adams Park, Wycombe, England, October 22, 2011
The Dragons have only recorded three wins in the PRO12 this term © Getty Images
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Newport Gwent Dragons chairman Martyn Hazell has vowed to "fight tooth and nail" to save the Welsh region.

The newly established Professional Regional Game Board, which was announced back in December, has been charged with changing the fortunes of the Welsh regions - the Ospreys, Scarlets, Dragons and Cardiff Blues - amid reports that they are struggling financially. Recent reports claim that one suggestion is to change the funding structure so that two regions get the bulk of the money and the other two see theirs reduced.

And with the Dragons currently in eleventh place in the RaboDirect PRO12, if this plan ever came to fruition, then it seems probable that they would be one of the two teams who have their funding cut. And Hazell, who sits on the PRGB, is adamant that he will do all he can to save the region.

"These are difficult times and tough decisions need to be made, but everything has to be done in the right way," Edwards told the South Wales Argus. "I will fight tooth and nail to keep the Dragons going.

"It is very difficult planning for the future because players and sponsors ask whether we will continue to be around and as a board we need to find some answers quickly, ones based on common sense and fairness. Something needs to be done because there is not enough funding to sustain four teams in the Heineken Cup."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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