New Wales boss Wayne Pivac admits he is excited about the international return of Ollie Griffiths after giving the Dragons back row a place on the bench for the weekend’s game with the Barbarians.
Griffiths, 24, will look to make a big impact from the bench at Principality Stadium where he is joined by regional team-mates Elliot Dee, Leon Brown and Sam Davies. Back row Aaron Wainwright starts the game.
Pivac has had plenty of experience of coming up against Griffiths as coach of the Scarlets.
And he admits the back row ace - who has one cap against Tonga in the summer of 2017 – has shone in training ahead of the Baa Baas clash.
"Ollie has been very impressive in training," said Pivac. "He is very, very strong over the ball and strong in the upper body.
"In some of the drills we've been doing in training he looks immense in that area of the game, when he gets in over the ball he is very tough to move.
"Ollie has had some injuries but from a club point of view over the last few years it's always easier to play the Dragons when he is not playing.
"He is a player who makes a difference to a team and is really excited about being named on the bench and will get an opportunity at some stage in the game. He is one of a few that we are looking forward to seeing coming off the bench."
Meanwhile, regional team-mate Ross Moriarty - who played in all seven World Cup games - misses the clash in the Welsh capital.
"He got some bad grazing over in Japan on his forehead and is still getting himself 100 per cent right," said Pivac.
"He's been pretty rundown and picked up a bad cold and then a chest infection, so he hasn't been able to do the training required for us to put him out there without risking injury."
In some of the drills we've been doing in training he looks immense in that area of the game, when he gets in over the ball he is very tough to move...
