WHEN Newport Gwent Dragons played at Principality Stadium last month they featured a squad entirely comprised of player who could dream of running out of the tunnel in the red of Wales.

Some of them – Tyler Morgan, Adam Warren, Cory Hill, Rhys Thomas and Tom Prydie – have already achieved that honour.

For others in the matchday squad, the aspiration of becoming a Test player appears to be a long shot, although Lloyd Burns, Andrew Coombs and Hill show why it pays to never give up on that dream.

For several in the Dragons’ 23 it hasn’t always been the red jersey that is their prime object of desire.

Full-back Carl Meyer and tighthead Brok Harris (and lock Rynard Landman, who wasn’t involved against the Scarlets at Judgement Day because of a family wedding) are South African ‘time servers’ who will qualify on residency terms shortly.

Centre Sam Beard, scrum-half Charlie Davies and tighthead Lloyd Fairbrother all hail from elsewhere but have Welsh roots… something that we may see more of in coming years at Rodney Parade once the WRU take the reins.

The governing body strengthened their exiles programme last summer with the appointment of former Dragons boss Paul Turner, a man with a renowned eye for potential and an encyclopedic knowledge of the game.

And the WRU made it clear when Newport RFC shareholders gave the green light for the proposed takeover and purchase of Rodney Parade, set to be completed in just over a month if all goes smoothly, that they intend to use the east heavily.

Chief executive Martyn Phillips stressed that they want to combine the natural talent from the region with those from elsewhere.

"Gwent has always been a rich source of rugby talent and we are looking to strengthen that pathway even further,” he said.

“This will be a Welsh-centric region with young Welsh talent given real opportunity on the professional stage.

"We also plan to utilise the region to repatriate emerging exiled talent and women's and girl's rugby is also a significant part of our plans for rugby in Gwent.”

That can only be a good thing if the WRU influence can be used to lure the sorts of players who have previously been reluctant to sign for the Dragons to give Rodney Parade a crack.

Diminutive full-back Matthew Morgan divides opinion and the flashes of brilliance that he has shown for the Ospreys, Bristol and Cardiff Blues have often been followed by moments of madness.

But would he have added value to the Dragons squad in recent years? I believe so. Would he have added entertainment? Definitely.

Cast your mind back to the end of the 2014 season when Morgan headed to South Africa with Wales after a dazzling display in the Possibles against Probables trial in Swansea.

He had been frustrated at a lack of game time behind Dan Biggar and Sam Davies at the Ospreys but rather than sticking in Wales instead headed to play in the English Championship with Bristol.

"I did have an offer from Newport Gwent Dragons but not the Ospreys. I just decided I wanted a change and a new challenge,” said Morgan in the minutes after his name was surprisingly read out by then WRU chairman David Pickering following the trial game.

"Because I haven't been in the Welsh set-up before, I thought I had nothing to lose by going to England. I thought I'd just go and give it my best shot."

The money being offered by big-spending Bristol no doubt played its part in the decision but so did, I’d imagine, the stigma associated with the Dragons.

If the governing body’s influence can be used to reassure potential recruits in the coming seasons, or also prevent the likes of Morgan heading over the border, then that can only be a good thing.

However, the notion of the Dragons being totally Wales-centric is a worry – it is only through mixing with players from other cultures and experiences that young talent is given a broad rugby education.

In recent times the likes of Kahn Fotuali’i, Regan King, Ben Blair, Casey Laulala, Jerry Collins, Filo Tiatia and Xavier Rush have added great value to regions to our west.

Joe Bearman (Argus Dragon of the Year in 2008 and 2009), Paul Emerick, Tom Willis are among those to do likewise here. I believe the current crop of South Africans plus Nick Crosswell, the affable New Zealander who has sadly been let go, and Englishman Ed Jackson have also been hits.

Tighthead Harris in particular has provided remarkable value for rand by playing in an astonishing 76 games since his arrival in November, 2014. His durability could even be considered something of a curse and hopefully a fit Leon Brown will enable the 32-year-old to get back to his very best rather than being flogged.

Former Springboks speedster Zane Kirchner will join the squad next season fresh from helping the likes of Joey Carbery, Garry Ringrose and Adam Byrne at Leinster and if the Dragons can make progress then more capped overseas players might be tempted to head to Newport.

Their presence must not be seen as a barrier to progress, get the homework and character assessment done properly and the ‘foreigners’ will be invaluable to the next generation of homegrown talent.