NEWPORT Gwent Dragons have secured a quarter-final in the European Rugby Challenge Cup and could earn more knockout rugby by qualifying in the LV= Cup.

However, the Dragons will probably need a pair of bonus-point wins in Rodney Parade encounters against Exeter and London Welsh and even then their fate will not be in their own hands after losing to Harlequins in their tournament opener.

Saracens currently top Pool One thanks to wins against the Ospreys and Quins and will qualify for the semi-finals if they beat London Welsh in Oxford on Sunday and then the Chiefs, who lead Pool Four, at Allianz Park the following weekend.

Sarries are chasing trophies on three fronts as they sit third in the Aviva Premiership and will play a European Champions Cup quarter-final at Racing Metro in April.

They should avoid becoming the Exiles' first scalp of the season at the Kassam Stadium but will be spreading their squad thin as they are without their England contingent and are also hosting South Africa's Blue Bulls in a friendly on Saturday.

But if they do slip up over the next fortnight then the Dragons, Bath and Gloucester could take top spot and earn a semi-final on the weekend of March 14.

On Saturday Bath play Harlequins at the Stoop and Gloucester host the Ospreys and then next weekend the west Walians head to the Rec while Quins travel to the Cherry and Whites.

The Dragons have qualified for the knockout stages of the Anglo-Welsh competition just once, when they were hammered 45-17 by Gloucester in 2011 at Kingsholm.

Current Pool One standings: Saracens 8, Dragons 5, Bath 5, Gloucester 5

Remaining fixtures: Saracens – London Welsh (a), Exeter (h); Dragons – Exeter (h), London Welsh (h); Bath – Harlequins (a), Ospreys (h); Gloucester – Ospreys (h), Harlequins (h)