Wing Rio Dyer has committed his long-term future to Dragons after signing his first senior professional contract at the region.
Dyer, a product of the Dragons Academy, has impressed this season in the Guinness PRO14, European Challenge Cup and Celtic Cup.
The 20-year-old was man-of-the-match in the league win over Ospreys in January, where his late try helped secure a memorable victory at Rodney Parade.
Currently ruled out with a shoulder injury, the Wales Sevens international has put pen to paper on a senior deal to continue his development at the region.
Dyer joins Ollie Griffiths, Rhodri Williams, Jordan Williams and Josh Lewis in committing for next season and beyond.
Academy products Taine Basham, Max Williams, Connor Edwards, Lennon Greggains, Josh Reynolds and Dan Babos also agreed new terms earlier this season.
Dean Ryan, Director of Dragons Rugby, said: "Rio is an exciting young player who has come through our Academy system and earned senior opportunities this season.
“We want to develop and retain our best young talent so Rio’s new contract is really positive news for us.
“We can now look forward to his continued development with his home region and return to action next season.”
Dyer made his debut for Dragons in January 2018 against Saracens in the Anglo-Welsh Cup – the seventh youngest player to feature for the region, aged 18 years, one month and six days.
His Guinness PRO14 debut arrived three weeks later against Benetton Rugby and he has made a further six appearances since, scoring one senior try.
A Dragons Academy graduate, Dyer played ten times at both under-16s and under-18s level, whilst he has also represented Wales Under-20s eight times, scoring two tries, most recently featuring at the World Rugby Junior Championships in France in the summer of 2019.
He has represented Wales on the Sevens circuit 24 times across five tournaments, bagging seven tries.
This season Rio played in all seven Celtic Cup fixtures, scoring twice and was selected for the Dragons Premiership Select five times, scoring once.
Dyer said: “I’m really pleased to sign the contract and continue my journey at Dragons.
“I’ve come through the Academy and really enjoyed this season with Celtic Cup and senior team appearances, plus experience with Wales Sevens.
“It’s frustrating to miss the rest of this season through injury, but my focus is on my rehabilitation and coming back better than I was before.”
We want to develop and retain our best young talent so Rio’s new contract is really positive news for us...
