Newport Gwent Dragons (Welsh: Dreigiau Casnewydd Gwent) are one of the four professional Rugby Union regional teams in Wales. They are jointly owned by Newport RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union and play all their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport. They play in the Pro12 league, the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Heineken Cup/European Challenge Cup. The region they represent covers an area of southeast Wales including Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen with a total population approaching 500,000 and are affiliated with a number of semi-professional and amateur clubs throughout the area, including Welsh Premier Division sides Bedwas RFC, Cross Keys RFC, Newport RFC and Pontypool RFC.

Formed in 2003 as a result of the regionalisation of Welsh rugby, the team started life with a third-placed finish in the 2003–2004 Celtic League, narrowly failing to repeat their initial exploits the season after, ending it in fourth. The team has however struggled to match those early heights, finishing in the bottom three in the 2005–2006, 2006–2007, 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 seasons. In 2007 they reached the semi finals of the European Challenge Cup, losing to French side ASM Clermont Auvergne 46–29. In 2011 they reached the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup, losing to Gloucester. They are yet to make the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup tournament.

Newport (Welsh: Casnewydd) is a city and unitary authority in south east Wales. It is located on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn estuary, about 12 miles (19 km) east of Cardiff. It is the third largest city in Wales, with a population of 141,300 (2007 estimate).

Newport has been a port since medieval times, when a castle was built by the Normans. The town outgrew the earlier Roman town of Caerleon, immediately upstream, and gained its first charter in 1314. It grew significantly in the 19th century, when its port became the focus of coal exports from the eastern valleys of South Wales. Until the rise of Cardiff from the 1850s, Newport was Wales' largest coal-exporting port. It was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839 led by the Chartists.

During the 20th century, the docks declined in importance, but Newport remained an important manufacturing and engineering centre. It was granted city status in 2002. It is the home of the University of Wales, Newport, and the Newport Gwent Dragons rugby union regional team, and hosted the Ryder Cup in 2010.

Justin Tipuric (born 6 August 1989) is a Welsh rugby union player. A Flanker, he plays club rugby for the Ospreys regional team having previously played for Aberavon RFC. He made his debut for the Ospreys 6 August 2010 versus Aironi.

In June 2011 he was named in the Wales national rugby union team 45 man training squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He made his Wales international debut on 20 August 2011 versus Argentina as a second-half replacement.