LYN Jones doesn’t need to wait until he sees the Newport Gwent Dragons youngsters in training to know that he has some pretty special talent at his disposal, he just needs to cast his mind back to a crisp February Sunday in Oxford.

There weren’t many folk at the Kassam Stadium the day after Wales had suffered a Six Nations defeat to Ireland that made it eight Test losses on the spin.

And those that had turned out to watch an LV= Cup game between London Welsh and the Dragons probably wished they hadn’t bothered as the clock ticked past the hour.

Jones’ Exiles led an uninspiring encounter 14-9 and the dead rubber seemed to be petering out.

Then, from nowhere, the visitors scored 33 unanswered points with the spark provided by Wales Under-20s starlets Hallam Amos, Ieuan Jones and Jack Dixon, while fly-half Steffan Jones kept the scoreboard ticking along nicely.

After the game Jones issued a mea culpa, admitting it was his bad substitutions that led to the late flurry of points.

In truth he was merely protecting his second string players, who clearly were not good enough for the top flight of English rugby.

Four months on the former Wales flanker has changed camps and on Monday he couldn’t hide his delight at being able to work with the exuberance of youth.

“I think the toughest thing I found at London Welsh was working without an academy,” he said.

“I didn’t realise how critical it was to the future of a club, it was a case of constantly picking up fellas who were past their best to support the club.

“I’ve always had a good contribution to the Wales Under-20s squads and there are good players here.

“They are lovely players and that’s the thing with Welsh guys, they have an instinct on how to play. It’s only when you go out of Wales that you see how much talent there is here.”

On that front Jones will profit from the recruitment of those that were calling the shots before him.

It was clear last season that an experienced spine was needed and Darren Edwards, who remains as head coach but will now work under Jones, subsequently signed key decision makers that will bring the best out of Jonathan Evans, Amos, Jones, Dixon et al.

There has been a concerted effort in recent years to up the game of the academy and to churn out more talent.

Too often the Dragons representation in Wales age-grade teams has been minimal.

Rugby chiefs frequently sound like landscape gardeners when they harp on about sorting out their pathways.

And the Dragons seem to have done a good job with their weeding because the current Under-20s group shows sign of change.

They have a tally of five youngsters in France and while that may not seem a huge amount, the quality is excellent. Amos, Jones, Dixon, Elliot Dee and James Benjamin don’t look like players that will slip off the radar in the next few years.

The challenge is to keep them coming, for the likes of centre Tyler Morgan, flanker Ollie Griffiths, tighthead Alex Jeffries and others to follow swiftly behind.

When confirmed as new director of rugby Jones was quick to stress the importance of the academy.

“We can create an effective, happy region that can produce better players, not just for the regional side but to move on to play for Wales so that we can see the region’s name on the international programme,” he said.

That view is shaped by Wales’ place in the financial pecking order of European rugby that necessitates producing from within.

And Jones is aware that a key factor will be working with clubs throughout the region to foster relationships and make them want to support and be part of the Dragons.

That’s the long-term plan but the here and now will make the new boss smile.

Jones will sit down this afternoon to watch Wales attempting to secure a second successive Junior World Championship semi-final by beating Argentina.

What he sees should leave him feeling pretty good about the future.