DEPARTING captain Luke Charteris believes Newport Gwent Dragons can become the leading team in Wales - and as early as next season.
The towering Wales lock makes his 100th and final RaboDirect PRO12 appearance (unless he returns one day) against one of the top teams in Europe in Leinster at Rodney Parade on Saturday night before heading off to France.
He has given the Dragons tremendous service, playing with them since the introduction of regional rugby and spending a season with Newport before that.
And he signs off with the pledge that the Dragons can finally end that habit of propping up the other Welsh teams and instead go right to the top of the tree.
"I think we'll all see that next year the Dragons won't be the fourth Welsh team. They might not win the league, but they can have the beating of the other Welsh teams and have a say in the play-offs at the end of the season. The realistic target is qualification for the Heineken Cup," the 29-year-old said.
"It's going to be a lot tighter next season with the salary cap coming in.”
"We have a lot of young 17 and 18-year-olds who will have a proper pre-season and there are a few others apart from Jack Dixon and Hallam Amos who could come in and do a job. We can let them loose and you will see a huge difference."
Charteris believes the Dragons were hit by a number of factors this season. "The World Cup affected us this year. You want your players to play as much as possible, but it was hard to gather any momentum. In terms of results, we haven't achieved what we wanted," he said.
"But it's still important we get players on the Wales tour to Australia this summer because you can see the confidence getting in that squad brings. Being with Wales has really brought through guys like Dan and Toby and one or two others could definitely make it in.
"The Dragons have the foundation in place for next year and it will give players a boost to realise that if they play well they can get representative honours."
Charteris will make his final bow on Saturday night with a heavy heart while looking forward to the next stage of his playing career and a lifestyle change.
"What has kept me here has been the boys and the people," he said. "I've made so many friends and the atmosphere here is quite unique with the players, the coaches and the people behind the scenes like Jim McCreedy and Viz (logistics manager Jeremy Vizard). They have all made it so special and the supporters are pretty special too. I'll miss all those things.
"But I feel it's the right time to try a new environment and a new lifestyle. A lot has been made of the money difference and that does come into it, but it's also an opportunity and a chance to try something very different - there's not many jobs which offer you that.
"I'm really looking forward to it. This has been my home for ten years, but this is a chance to experience a new culture, language with the sun and the beach thrown in as well! It's a brilliant opportunity and I'm really looking forward to it.
"The French Top 14 has so many teams who are full of internationals, quality players from all over the world which will improve me as a player so it's going to be a challenge - if you don't have that you might as well retire.
"I'm starting French lessons as well, I haven't done it since I was a junior, a woman comes to the house to teach me but there's a long way to go with it!"
Charteris has made sure his Wales chances will not be affected by the move across the channel and says there is a clause in his contract which guarantees his release for all internationals.
"I have made sure of that and have negotiated my release in my contract which is important to me, but I've got to make sure I'm playing well enough to be selected first," he said.
He's hoping to make the Wales tour to Australia having recovered from a shoulder injury which has kept him out of the last couple of games but first he wants to help the Dragons end their season on a winning note against Leinster.
"I just want to go out with a win," he said. "It's not about me, it's important for the confidence of the boys that they end on a high and get some confidence for next season. If they can beat a team like Leinster it would be just that little boost to make the off season a bit easier."
Luke likes to think that Saturday won't mark the absolute end of his Dragons career. "At the moment my thinking is that I will come back after three years. I certainly intend to, but you never know," he said.
And with that he was off to fulfil another important step towards the next stage of his life - a French lesson.
The towering Wales lock makes his 100th and final RaboDirect PRO12 appearance (unless he returns one day) against one of the top teams in Europe in Leinster at Rodney Parade on Saturday night before heading off to France.
He has given the Dragons tremendous service, playing with them since the introduction of regional rugby and spending a season with Newport before that.
And he signs off with the pledge that the Dragons can finally end that habit of propping up the other Welsh teams and instead go right to the top of the tree.
"I think we'll all see that next year the Dragons won't be the fourth Welsh team. They might not win the league, but they can have the beating of the other Welsh teams and have a say in the play-offs at the end of the season. The realistic target is qualification for the Heineken Cup," the 29-year-old said.
"It's going to be a lot tighter next season with the salary cap coming in.”
"We have a lot of young 17 and 18-year-olds who will have a proper pre-season and there are a few others apart from Jack Dixon and Hallam Amos who could come in and do a job. We can let them loose and you will see a huge difference."
Charteris believes the Dragons were hit by a number of factors this season. "The World Cup affected us this year. You want your players to play as much as possible, but it was hard to gather any momentum. In terms of results, we haven't achieved what we wanted," he said.
"But it's still important we get players on the Wales tour to Australia this summer because you can see the confidence getting in that squad brings. Being with Wales has really brought through guys like Dan and Toby and one or two others could definitely make it in.
"The Dragons have the foundation in place for next year and it will give players a boost to realise that if they play well they can get representative honours."
Charteris will make his final bow on Saturday night with a heavy heart while looking forward to the next stage of his playing career and a lifestyle change.
"What has kept me here has been the boys and the people," he said. "I've made so many friends and the atmosphere here is quite unique with the players, the coaches and the people behind the scenes like Jim McCreedy and Viz (logistics manager Jeremy Vizard). They have all made it so special and the supporters are pretty special too. I'll miss all those things.
"But I feel it's the right time to try a new environment and a new lifestyle. A lot has been made of the money difference and that does come into it, but it's also an opportunity and a chance to try something very different - there's not many jobs which offer you that.
"I'm really looking forward to it. This has been my home for ten years, but this is a chance to experience a new culture, language with the sun and the beach thrown in as well! It's a brilliant opportunity and I'm really looking forward to it.
"The French Top 14 has so many teams who are full of internationals, quality players from all over the world which will improve me as a player so it's going to be a challenge - if you don't have that you might as well retire.
"I'm starting French lessons as well, I haven't done it since I was a junior, a woman comes to the house to teach me but there's a long way to go with it!"
Charteris has made sure his Wales chances will not be affected by the move across the channel and says there is a clause in his contract which guarantees his release for all internationals.
"I have made sure of that and have negotiated my release in my contract which is important to me, but I've got to make sure I'm playing well enough to be selected first," he said.
He's hoping to make the Wales tour to Australia having recovered from a shoulder injury which has kept him out of the last couple of games but first he wants to help the Dragons end their season on a winning note against Leinster.
"I just want to go out with a win," he said. "It's not about me, it's important for the confidence of the boys that they end on a high and get some confidence for next season. If they can beat a team like Leinster it would be just that little boost to make the off season a bit easier."
Luke likes to think that Saturday won't mark the absolute end of his Dragons career. "At the moment my thinking is that I will come back after three years. I certainly intend to, but you never know," he said.
And with that he was off to fulfil another important step towards the next stage of his life - a French lesson.
