THE knowledge that every sporting team has their place in the food chain meant that there was always the fear that the clock was ticking when Taulupe Faletau was at Newport Gwent Dragons.

In the end we were fortunate to get seven seasons out of man who looks up at just one man, Kieran Read, in the list of the world's best number eights.

The manner of Faletau's departure was frustrating, with the feeling that perhaps he could have been convinced to stay on a national dual contract with the Welsh Rugby Union, but in the end the chance to follow the lead of Ian Gough, Luke Charteris and Dan Lydiate in chasing a fresh challenge was too tempting.

Nobody could blame him and given that little has changed at Rodney Parade, it's inevitable that the next generation is now being linked with moves away.

What the Dragons have to do is show that plying their trade at NP19 is no barrier to Test ambition, although that's easier said than done in the professional age where there is plenty of whispering in ears.

The gumshield is now off 'Gatland's Law' and it is baring some teeth like Chris Ashton, so that should theoretically help ward off a few raiders to the east but the problem to the west remains.

That is not me being negative, it's me being realistic.

In sport the big guys will always look to pick talent off the little guys, whether it be Newbridge's players moving to Newport, potential full-time players at Ebbw Vale moving up to Dragons or Wales aces heading from Rodney Parade to teams chasing silverware.

That pyramid is a fact of life and a plight that Newport Gwent Dragons share with many others in the pro ranks.

The 2016/17 is only three weeks old but Tommy Taylor has been one of the stars of the Aviva Premiership after the hooker from Macclesfield moved to Wasps.

"Sale have been great to me and so has Dimes (boss Steve Diamond) but it's about where I see myself going and what I need and where I need to be playing – that's what it came down to in the end," said Taylor back in February.

"For me it's about the exposure I might get there and the big games that they are involved in. Wasps was the choice because of what they have done – they are through to the quarter-finals of the European Champions Cup and if you get man of the match against, say, Leinster, then it's a big step-up from say the Challenge Cup.

"If you look at England's hookers at the moment with Jamie George, Dylan Hartley and Tom Youngs, I'm not in the mix yet. So I need to see if I can stand out at that level which will be a challenge for me especially going to a new club.

"That was the main thing in my mind – trying to get to the level that they are at. It's not about financial rewards, it's merely about where I want to get to as a player."

The challenge for both the Dragons and Sale, who also lost Danny Cipriani to the dim lights of Coventry in the summer, is to show that Wales and England coaches respectively are still watching them closely.

The comments of Rodney Parade favourite Colin Charvis annoyed plenty on Sunday evening when the former flanker (Argus Dragon of the Year for 2006/7) was talking about Hallam Amos.

The ex-Wales captain said: "He is a talent for the future, you've just go to question what he is going to do. Is he gaining a lot from playing in a lot of games where he is losing narrowly, expected to be the superstar?

"He is showing his strength and enthusiasm constantly but we want to see him in the Welsh jersey as well.

"Maybe if you put him in a stronger team with more opportunities we will see him crossing the line a little bit more and maybe see him in the red jersey a little bit more."

South Wales Argus:

Such comments inevitably wound us up and Amos started in all three Tests against New Zealand this summer, so the Dragons have not hindered his progress so far.

However, the 21-year-old from Cross Ash has acknowledged he needs to push on and learn lessons from some tough experiences against the world champions.

At the moment he is behind Liam Williams, George North and Leigh Halfpenny in the pecking order while Tom James is arguably the form winger in Wales and Alex Cuthbert looked very good for Cardiff Blues against Glasgow before suffering a groin problem.

Standing still is not an option for young talent and in time Amos, like Taylor, will be forced to ponder long and hard about where is best to push onto the next level.

They also know that tight calls go the way of the player who has proven themselves in a top-of-the-table tussle or Champions Cup encounter.

Amos is a fine young man who appreciates the chances that the Dragons have given him. He likes playing alongside friends and fellow youngsters who have come through the ranks. He knows that the region will do everything to accommodate his challenging schedule that includes professional club rugby, Test rugby and the small matter of medical studies.

He pledged his loyal to the Dragons on Tuesday and from a selfish point of view that is pleasing to see, but will that admirable allegiance be unwavering two years down the line?

If there is genuine progress, ambition and investment at Rodney Parade and the search for fresh backers comes off then perhaps. If not then it's sadly inevitable that Amos will be running down the wing in the colours of another team, perhaps black, scarlet or blue.

It doesn't please me to write that but I can't just put fingers in my ears and make the lala sound.

There is undoubtedly a stigma surrounding the Dragons after a decade in the bottom half of the table and because of the lack of money put into bolstering the squad.

Would Elliot Dee have a Wales cap by now if he was at the Scarlets? Would Ollie Griffiths be mentioned along with Ellis Jenkins and James Davies as a player who can join the back row gang of Warburton, Faletau, Lydiate, Moriarty and Tipuric?

If I am pondering such things then the players may well be and their agents definitely will.

The case of Jason Tovey showed that the grass isn't always greener but at least by having a crack at Cardiff Blues he wasn't left wondering what might have been.

We can't expect players to put their careers on hold while the Dragons hierarchy attempt to sort themselves out. The name has changed from Faletau to Amos but the clock is still ticking loudly.