AS the TV camera panned down the line-up of the Wales squad singing the anthem before the Test against Georgia it was great to see Cory Hill next to Elliot Dee, Leon Brown and Hallam Amos.

Having four players not only in the squad for the autumn internationals but playing in a Test match is a huge boost for the Dragons, while it’s great to hear that Will Talbot-Davies and George Gasson have also been called up to the squad for the start of the World Rugby Sevens Series.

International recognition is brilliant for the individuals involved but it’s also good for our environment at Ystrad Mynach.

I’ve got no doubt that Leon and Elliot will come back inspired by what they are experienced in their first autumn in Test camp and that will rub off on others.

In past years we’ve struggled to get call-ups apart from obvious players like Toby Faletau, who would have been in the Test squad even if he was playing for Newport High School Old Boys.

The improvements that we’ve made this season might not quite have shown in terms of results but it has helped to get four players in the autumn series, and would have been two or three more without injuries.

One thing that has been an eye-opener is the new ability to see how we shape up in conditioning tests compared to our regional rivals, and Dragons players have been topping a few aspects.

I know what Josh Turnbull is bench pressing or how fast Josh Navidi is. As a result, what we can see is that as a squad we are more than capable of matching and bettering players from the Ospreys, Cardiff Blues and Scarlets in terms of the conditioning side of things.

I bumped into Leon at Friars Walk when he had been in Wales camp for a week or so and he said he was enjoying it (along with the news that it was the quietest that Elliot has ever been).

That’s encouraging because when I was called up to past squads as a professional tackle bag holder, it was an intense and mentally draining experience with short training sessions but long days.

The way that we are now working in Ystrad Mynach means it’s not so much of a shock to the system for new boys Leon and Elliot, while I am sure it’s helped Cory and Hallam earn their selections.

With a player like Leon his size and conditioning or how much he can squat is not in question, it’ll just be the other parts of his game as a 21-year-old prop.

We’ve all seen how promising he is and I guarantee he will come on leaps and bounds now that his mental approach and game understanding improves, with the Wales experience helping that progress.

The Dragons should feel the benefit when our quartet are back in the mix in Ystrad Mynach in the second week of December.

By then hopefully we will have beaten Ulster in the first of five home games in that month but first up we have a tricky trip to Dublin.

I’ve written so many times about the strength of the Leinster’s squad and about how their so-called second string can almost be trickier to play because they are desperate to grasp their chance in the XV.

It’s going to be a tough test at the RDS but I think that unlike our visits to Ulster and Munster we will benefit from going to Ireland with a more settled side.

There are combinations that have played together plenty of occasions and hopefully that will translate into a good performance and result to take into our long-awaited run of games at Rodney Parade.

Leinster away is one of the hardest trips in the Guinness PRO14 but we upset the odds in 2015 so have to believe in ourselves.