English rugby side Bristol are set to play at Newport Gwent Dragons’ Rodney Parade ground for the next two seasons.

The Guinness Premiership side’s Memorial Stadium is being redeveloped and BBC Wales understands the Welsh Rugby Union has approved the idea.

The move could be confirmed on Thursday and if it goes ahead Bristol will play their home games primarily on Sundays.

If there are no hitches Bristol will play their last final home match at the Mem against Worcester on Saturday.

The game will also be a final farewell to several Bristol players including veteran prop and former Scotland international Dave Hilton.  606: DEBATE
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The 37-year-old made his Bristol debut in 1989 before leaving in 1992 to join Glasgow and returning in 2003.

Bristol coach Richard Hill said: “Saturday will be an emotional occasional as we bid farewell to the ‘Mem’ in its current guise.

“A few of the boys who have been with us through thick and thin over the past few seasons are leaving us at the end of the current campaign and, of course, the likes of Dave Hilton are hanging up their boots at long last. 
The new Memorial Stadium will be an 18,500 all-seater stadium

Bristol City Council approved plans for the £36m redevelopment which will turn Bristol’s ground into an 18,500 all-seater stadium in April.

The new ground will include student flats, a hotel and gym and will be shared between Bristol Rugby and Bristol Rovers Football Club.

While the rugby club seem to be on the verge of playing their games in Wales as part of a cross-border move, Rovers are in discussion with Swindon Town and Yeovil Town about playing at either of their grounds.

Rodney Parade is also due to be redeveloped from 2009 onward but the Dragons have been assured they don’t need to vacate their ground while the £40m facelift takes place.

Bristol lock Gareth Llewellyn has been banned for three weeks at a Rugby Football Union hearing, after admitting striking Bath prop David Barnes.The veteran forward will now miss games against Newcastle and Harlequins.

The RFU’s Budge Pountney cited Llewellyn after spotting the incident in the 19-9 derby defeat on 2 March.

Speaking via the club website, the 39-year-old expressed his regret over the incident and wished Barnes a “full and speedy recovery”.

Bristol lock Gareth Llewellyn has been banned for three weeks at a Rugby Football Union hearing, after admitting striking Bath prop David Barnes.

The veteran forward will now miss games against Newcastle and Harlequins.

The RFU’s Budge Pountney cited Llewellyn after spotting the incident in the 19-9 derby defeat on 2 March.

Speaking via the club website, the 39-year-old expressed his regret over the incident and wished Barnes a “full and speedy recovery”.

Gloucester failed to fully capitalise on Leicester’s defeat by London Irish but remain top of the Premiership after defeat at West country rivals Bristol.

Tries by James Simpson-Daniel, Jack Adams and Anthony Allen, put the visitors in command at 17-9 ahead.

But Scott Linklater and Jason Hobson touched down to give the hosts a 23-17 half-time advantage.

Gloucester’s Willie Walker responded to two Jason Strange penalties with a pair himself, but Bristol held on to win.

The result takes Richard Hill’s side 12 points clear of second-from-bottom Worcester, while the narrow margin of Gloucester’s loss ensures they extend their lead over Leicester to two points courtesy of a bonus point.

With England trio Iain Balshaw, Lesley Vainikolo and Luke Narraway in their starting line-up, Dean Ryan’s men dominated the opening stages and posted two tries in as many minutes after Strange had landed two penalties.

Simpson-Daniel claimed the opener when he rounded off a scything midfield break by Adams, and the wing then turned provider through a kick and chase that ended with Adams touching down.

Uncharacteristically, Chris Paterson missed both conversion attempts but made no mistake after Allen intercepted a wayward pass by Strange and sprinted 50 metres to score.

At that stage Gloucester were in sight of a try bonus point but Bristol’s response stunned the league leaders.

 Resorting to brute force up front, Bristol hooker Linklater profited from a superb line-out take and drive by lock Roy Winters, while Strange’s conversion brought Bristol back to one point adrift.

Gloucester skipper Marco Bortolami was then sin-binned for pulling down a maul, giving Bristol enough time to take an unexpected half-time lead when prop Hobson ploughed over and Strange converted.

There was no immediate sign of a Gloucester recovery early in the second period after Strange and Paterson exchanged penalties.

Strange slotted a drop-goal 14 minutes from time before substitute Walker, who replaced a largely subdued Paterson, landed penalties in the 71st and 73rd minutes to reduce the gap but to no avail.

England scrum-half Shaun Perry is a doubt for the start of the Six Nations after suffering a freak injury playing for his club Bristol on Sunday.
 
The 29-year-old has had surgery to repair a fractured cartilage in his windpipe after taking a boot to the throat in the win over Harlequins.

Bristol believe that Perry, a member of England’s World Cup squad, is likely to be out for “weeks, not months”.

“I feel for Shaun, he has been superb for us,” said head coach Richard Hill.

The injury will hinder Perry’s chances of being included in the squad for England’s Six Nations campaign, which starts against Wales at Twickenham on 2 February.

The former welder went to the World Cup in France as first-choice scrum-half but lost his place in the match-day 22 after being substituted at half-time of the 36-0 defeat by South Africa in the pool stages.

Perry, who joined Bristol from Coventry in 2005, finished Sunday’s game after receiving treatment on the pitch but continued to feel discomfort in his throat.

After the match, Bristol’s medical team diagnosed it was the same injury that team-mate Nathan Budgett picked up in the game against Cardiff last month.

“When Budge (Nathan Budgett) suffered his injury, none of us had even seen an injury of this type before,” added Hill. “For a second player to get injured in the same way barely a month later beggars belief.

“Shaun returned from the World Cup and got straight back to work with Bristol. He has embraced his role as a senior player and I’ve had no hesitation naming him captain in Matt Salter’s absence.”

Bristol will not set a time-frame for Perry’s likely return until a full assessment of the injury can be made.

It is the latest blow to have hit the Bristol squad in the wake of the Harlequins match.

England hopeful Dan Ward-Smith fractured his hand, while David Blaney was stretchered off in injury time with a suspected broken ankle.