BEN Castle, Newport Gwent Dragons’ latest recruit from New Zealand, fully intends adding to the fierce reputation the Rodney Parade forwards have already gained.

Castle spent five seasons playing alongside Dragons captain Tom Willis for Waikato Chiefs in the Super 12 and Super 14, and he has been made aware of the prowess of the Dragons pack.

Castle has joined from Toulon where he spent the first half of last season in the same side as Jerry Collins, now with the Ospreys, but the pair moved on when it didn’t work out in the south of France.

Castle managed to squeeze in one more season of Super 14 rugby when he jetted off to Australia to play for Perth-based Western Force under former All Blacks coach John Mitchell.

Now he’s committed to the Dragons for the next three years, signed as the replacement for Rhys Thomas, who left for the Scarlets.

“I’m well aware of the solid reputation of the Dragons pack and I aim to contribute to the success of the team and play some good rugby. I also hope to pass some of my knowledge on,” he said.

“I’m excited about playing in Europe and there’s no better arena to play in than against the best like Biarritz and Gloucester as well as the powerhouses of Irish rugby, so it’s a good thing.”

And Castle believes the signs are promising, though he has only been in Wales for a short time.

“I’m really enjoying the place and the vibes are refreshing,” he said. “I’ve played in a couple of different countries and this is an easy place to slot in. There’s a good feeling around and everything is moving forward nicely.

“Everything is very positive and I’m already feeling ready to rip into the new season.”

Castle is also looking forward to renewing his partnership with Willis and compatriots Danny Lee and Hoani MacDonald with whom he also played a lot.

“I played all the time for the Chiefs with Tom and he’s a very good leader and I also played a lot with Danny and Hoani who are good players.

“Danny may be 33, but he’s been running around in training like a 25-year-old. He has captained a lot of teams and he has been very prominent in New Zealand rugby, he’ll be a great signing.”

Castle, who has just turned 29, feels richer for his experience with Western Force in the Super 14 competition. “We finished eighth but it could easily have been a lot higher because we lost three games within three points,” he said.

“If we had won those the season could have looked far different, but they managed to get 10 players in the Wallabies squad, so something must have been right.

“That was a relief after my time with Toulon where it was a bit of a circus. Everything about the place was fantastic, but it was quite tricky the way things were run there and it wasn’t the right environment, it was very hard for players to play the game there.”

After that forgettable introduction to rugby in Europe Castle is hoping for better things now he has landed in Wales.

With a total of seven New Zealanders part of the Dragons squad for next season it promises to be more than a bit like home.