Coombs will take the team into battle for the first time on the back of a hard fought win over Bath last weekend.
The Dragons squeezed home 22-20 against the English side and will be looking to begin their new campaign with a similar result.
Scrum half Richie Rees, hooker Rhys Thomas and second row Matthew Screech will make their bows for the Gwent outfit as they kick of their campaign while former favourite Jason Tovey returns at fly-half after a difficult stint with Cardiff Blues.
Hallam Amos moves from fullback to wing to accomodate Dan Evans while Tom Prydie takes his place on the other wing. The centre pairing remains similar to last seasons as Jack Dixon and Pat Leach are paired together.
Dragons’ Director of Rugby Lyn Jones said, “To be the best you’ve got to play against the best, we can’t measure ourselves against the lower end of the league, we want to compete and be at the top. To do that we need to perform and learn from playing the best.”
