Ross Moriarty believes the strength in depth in the back row at Dragons will only continue to drive up standards at the region.
The British & Irish Lion and Wales international committed his long-term future to Dragons in April.
And Moriarty, a Grand Slam winner with Wales in 2019, believes the battle for places at the region will only drive him on.
Aaron Wainwright and Taine Basham have been part of the Wales set-up this season while Ollie Griffiths has also knocked loudly on the international door.
Young Academy products Lennon Greggains and Ben Fry will also compete alongside the likes of Harrison Keddie, James Benjamin, Huw Taylor and the vastly experienced Lewis Evans for a jersey.
And Moriarty, who joined Dragons in 2018 following his switch from Gloucester Rugby, is eager for that battle to keep all the players on their toes.
“If it wasn't competitive it wouldn’t be enjoyable to want to be the best,” said the 26-year-old.
“It's good to have those boys in training with Dragons and it does put a bit of pressure on you to train well every single day.
“The end goal is obviously to get results on the weekend and that's what we all want to do.
“We want to compete hard and make each other better to get the right results for the team.
“That's what we've tried to do this year and it has gone well.”
Moriarty has been an almost ever-present member of the Welsh back row over the last 12 months, scoring the winning try as Wales narrowly defeated France to make last year’s Rugby World Cup semi-finals.
He has now clocked up 45 caps and comes from a real rugby family with father Paul having played for Wales at Rugby Union and Rugby League while uncle Richard captained his country.
However, he insists the pedigree of his family puts no extra pressure on his shoulders.
“There was never any pressure from either of them two,” he said.
“I probably put more pressure on myself than listen to outside influence, but my family never put pressure on me to achieve anything.
“For me to play for Wales is bonus, for me to go with the Lions was another bonus.
“I was happy with a handful of caps, but now I have got 45 and now I'm looking forward to potentially get 50 caps.
“That'll be a massive achievement for me and for the family so we'll see what happens.”
If it wasn't competitive it wouldn’t be enjoyable to want to be the best...
