Experienced scrum half Rhodri Williams is relishing the prospect of helping mentor the likes of up and coming nine Che Hope this season.
Dragons currently have a trio of seniors on the books with Williams and Lewis Jones scrapping for the start in the BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) opener with Edinburgh while Gonzalo Bertranou is away on Test duty with Argentina.
Below them are the next generation that includes Hope, 19, who recently travelled with the Men of Gwent for the pre-season camp in Dublin.
Hope could yet feature this evening against Scarlets after being named among the replacements for the friendly fixture in West Wales.
And Williams - who has climbed to third on the list of appearances by a Dragons scrum half with 78 since arriving from Bristol in 2018.- is ready to play his part in the youngster’s development.
“Che is with us full time and he is pushing us,” said Williams.
“He is a quality nine who brings different parts of the game. He's a very sharp nine, a very fit nine and he has shown that during pre-season.
“If me, Lewis and Gonzalo can help him with anything, we need to make sure that door is open for him to learn off us.
“And if there's anything we can pick off his game and learn from him [that is great], because everyone has the different attributes they bring to the game.
“Mentorship is something you have got to be conscious of and not just leave the youngsters to get on with it,” he added.
“You look at his game, look at him in training and sit down with him.
“If you see something in training just ask him ‘what were your thoughts there?’ not just straight out correct him, because he might have seen a different picture to what you would have seen.
“It's about understanding where he's coming from and how he's going to play the game.”
Boss Dean Ryan is also keen to see the young scrum half benefit from his time around the senior squad.
“We had Che (Hope) in in that backup position travelling with us in Dublin. That it is a big leap for him, but it's a great opportunity for him.
“We've been super impressed with him and his attitude towards learning what it's like to be in a senior environment.
“I think scrum half, when Gonzo is back, is one area we have got real strength and depth.
“But during pre-season it is probably one area that we have fingers crossed. If not, we have got some youngsters to come in to take their opportunities.”
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Mentorship is something you have got to be conscious of and not just leave the youngsters to get on with it...
