FLANKER James Benjamin provided a moment of real quality when setting up Ross Wardle for Newport Gwent Dragons' opening try against the Ospreys last weekend.

The 20-year-old was swiftly in support after fellow young gun Ashton Hewitt's break before nicely offloading to put his centre over the line.

It was another flash of what Benjamin, a talented footballer, can do.

The versatile former Wales Under-20s forward can be pleased with three pretty accomplished performances on the spin after starting at openside against Ulster in the Guinness Pro12 and Harlequins and the Ospreys in the LV= Cup.

The Dragons are spoilt for choice at 7 and face some tricky decisions over the coming months and years.

Ollie Griffiths, 19, has made three cameos off the bench while Scott Matthews, 20, is the unlucky one of the talented trio.

Griffiths is a terrific athlete and breakdown menace whose leadership qualities have earned him the honour of being the youngest captain in the rich history of Newport RFC.

Matthews has been a consistent performer for Cross Keys and was unlucky to miss out to Scarlets flanker James Davies in the Principality Premiership dream team.

The rumbustious flanker, who did well for the Dragons against Lydney in pre-season, may not be as polished as the other pair but he makes things happen and has the ability to create mayhem.

The trio are fine prospects in the Premiership yet they currently have their route to the Dragons line-up blocked by Nic Cudd, a man who is hard to budge at the breakdown and just as tough to shift from the XV.

The 26-year-old has made 50 appearances since heading east from the Scarlets and has been one of the bright spots of a challenging campaign with his sterling defensive efforts earning him the Argus readers' vote as player of the month in both September and October.

Cudd – who is four centimetres shorter and the same weight as the continually excellent Australian Michael Hooper – is going to be around for some time but if his performance drops then there are three young tyros champing at the bit.