Irish provinces Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht are the sides standing in their way.
With Roach as captain and Jenkins starting at full-back, the Dragons are the first Welsh side in action when they travel to face Connacht Eagles at The Sportsground on this afternoon (2pm).
Summer signing Jack Cosgrove starts at loosehead prop as he gets his first taste of action for the region.
Wales Under-20 stars Lennon Greggains, Dafydd Buckland, Aneurin Owen, Ed Scragg and Rio Dyer all start after their summer exploits at the World Rugby U20 Championships in Argentina.
Dragons A head coach Luke Narraway said: “We need to make sure we give these guys a platform to showcase what they have to the best of their ability so we’re excited about the first game.
“The beauty about this competition is most teams are concentrating on what they can deliver as opposed to doing 10 hours of analysis and trying to stop what the opposition is strong at.
“That’s especially the case for the first game and everybody starts with a clean slate. We are concentrating on controlling what we can control.
“We want to produce something on the pitch that replicates what we have been doing in training. We want to get that transfer which should lead to a good performance.”
Ospreys Development head coach Richard Fussell believes the Celtic Cup can help bridge the gap between semi-professional and A team rugby.
His team face Munster A on tonight at Irish Independent Park (7.30pm).
“There is a gap underneath Guinness PRO14 and the level below and having these boys in the environment regularly can only benefit them and the Ospreys,” Fussell said.
“With it being a World Cup year and a lot of the younger players having the opportunity to step up to the senior squad, it’s going to be a young side that we field in the campaign this year but it’s a fantastic opportunity for them to showcase themselves and gain experience.
“If you look at the players who featured heavily in last year’s competition like Ifan Phillips and Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler they’ve become a solid part of the senior set-up since then and that’s what can come of an opportunity like this. That is going to be the word for this competition – opportunity.”
There are two games on Saturday with Cardiff Blues A hosting last season’s winners Leinster A at Cardiff Arms Park (2.30pm). Scarlets A – who were beaten by Leinster in last year’s final – host Ulster A at Llandovery’s Church Bank.
“The Celtic Cup has become a really important stepping stone for us and proved invaluable last year in terms of development and linking the young guys in the academy alongside senior professionals,” said Cardiff Blues Academy Manager Gruff Rees.
“It allows us to align our rugby philosophy throughout the academy and to the senior squad. You only have to look at the likes of Shane Lewis-Hughes, Kieron Assiratti, Alun Lawrence and Harri Millard to see how the competition can be used as a springboard.
“It’s also really good for the development of coaches who have the chance to replicate the routines of the professional game. These guys have done it as players, but to lead a programme over a sustained period is really beneficial for them.
“Being able to work with our semi-professional clubs to give some of their players opportunities in the competition is also a really exciting proposition.”
Scarlets A head coach Richard Kelly said: “We enjoyed the tournament last season, coming up just short in the final at Parc y Scarlets against a strong Leinster side, but more importantly, we saw the likes of Dan Davis, Josh Helps and Kieran Hardy go on and play key roles for the Scarlets’ senior team.
“Hopefully we will see a similar progression from more of our developing talent this season. There’s a lot of talent in our region and the Celtic Cup will allow us to see how these players react in a professional environment and at a reasonably high level.”
Celtic Cup Round 1 Fixtures
Connacht Eagles vs Dragons A (Friday, August 23. Kick-off: 2pm)
Munster A vs Ospreys Development (Friday, August 23. Kick-off: 7.30pm)
Cardiff Blues A vs Leinster A (Saturday, August 24. Kick-off: 2pm)
Scarlets A vs Ulster A (Saturday, August 24. Kick-off: 2pm)
Teams
Dragons A: Owen Jenkins; Rio Dyer, Connor Edwards, Aneurin Owen, James McCarthy; Evan Lloyd, Dafydd Buckland; Jack Cosgrove, Ellis Shipp, Luke Yendle, Ed Scragg, Max Williams, Lennon Greggains, Ben Fry, Ben Roach (capt)
Reps: Will Griffiths, Josh Reynolds, Henry Hibbs, Max Ayling, Benji Hoppe, Dan Babos, Jacob Botica, Joe Goodchild
Ospreys Development: Phil Jones (capt); Dewi Cross, Chay Smith, Callum Carson, Ben Cambriani; Josh Thomas, Connor Tantum; Jordan Walters, Garin Lloyd, Jordan Pritchard, Matt Dodd, Shay Smallman, Iwan Shenton, Joe Grabham, Morgan Strong
Reps: Josh Moore, Rhys Davies, Ben Warren, Rhys Thomas, Cai Davies, Liam Seawood, Cameron Lewis, George Gasson
Cardiff Blues A: Ioan Davies; Edd Howley, Alex Knott, Sam Beard, Dale Stuckey; Joe Scrivens, Tom Habberfield; Tom Davies, Evan Yardley, Will Davies King, James Ratti, Callum Bradbury, Cai Devine, Zach O’Driscoll, Tim Grey
Reps: Joey Tomlinson, Huw Owen, Olly Drake, Sean Moore, Alex Everett, Morgan Allen, Jamie Hill, Ben Jones, Barney Nightingale, Dafydd Smith
Scarlets A: 15 Kallum Evans, 14 Morgan Griffiths, 13 Osian Knott, 12 Rhodri Jones, 11 Harri Doel, 10 Ioan Hughes, 9 Efan Jones, 1 Steff Thomas, 2 Dom Booth, 3 Alex Jeffries, 4 Robin Williams, 5 Lee Taylor, 6 Stuart Worrell, 7 Jac Morgan (capt) , 8 Lewis Millen
Replacements; 16 Kemsley Mathias, 17 Greg George, 18 Llyr Green/ Jamie Hughes, 19 Lewis Ellis Jones, 20 Gethin Davies, 21 Dafydd Land, 22 Jac Wilson, 23 AN Other.
