Centre Jamie Roberts believes fans should be very excited about the prospect of fellow new recruit Nick Tompkins running out for Dragons.
Wales international Tompkins has moved to Dragons from Saracens on a year-long loan deal.
The 25-year-old has arrived with a wealth of experience and a winning attitude - he has won four English Premiership titles and three European Champions Cup titles during his career with Saracens.
Tompkins was also capped by Wales in all four games during the 2020 Guinness Six Nations, scoring a try on his debut against Italy at Principality Stadium.
And Roberts admits he has been impressed the centre star appearing for Dragons.
“I did drop Nick a message when he had his first Wales cap. I have not seen a debut Six Nations tournament like that from a midfielder for a long time,” revealed Roberts.
“For someone to come in completely unknown. I say unknown, he was well-known in the English Premiership but untested on the international stage.
“To come through like he did in some big games for Wales, I have not seen that. So that’s exciting in itself.
“Supporters of Welsh rugby should get very excited about Nick because he’s a quality player.
“He’s been there and done it at a high level domestically and is undoubtedly going to play a huge part for Wales over the next World Cup cycle.
“I have played against him a few times when he was at Saracens. He’s a smart player and a clever communicator.”
Roberts and Tompkins could now line-up in the midfield for Dragons in the coming months.
However, boss Dean Ryan has vowed there is no timeline to play new signing Roberts after his arrival last week.
“I’ve got no timelines about Jamie needing to be on board this week, the week after or anything else, what we’ve got to do is look at the season as a whole,” said the Director of Dragons Rugby.
“We are introducing Jamie into what we are doing and how we are doing it. We look forward to his contributions and will work out a timeline afterwards.”
To come through like he did in some big games for Wales, I have not seen that... So that’s exciting in itself...
