SHAUN Knight is aiming to put the heat on Newport Gwent Dragons’ Mr Reliable after making the move from Gloucester.

The 25-year-old tighthead prop headed over the border last month and will battle for match action with Brok Harris, Lloyd Fairbrother and Wales Under-20s international Alex Jeffries.

The Dragons relied heavily on South African Harris last season with the 30-year-old starting in 24 of 25 fixtures following his November move from the Stormers and Western Province.

Former England Under-20s cap Knight hopes that he can help take some of the strain following his move from Kingsholm.

He said: “Sometimes a team can go through a whole season and be lucky enough to not get any knocks, sometimes you get injuries and that’s when people get their chances.

“You’ve got to wait for your opportunity and then take it when it comes.”

Knight is relishing the prospect of regular rugby after finding his route to the Cherry and Whites’ 3 jersey blocked by the considerable frames of former All Black John Afoa and Sila Puafisi.

And when Gloucester signed England Paul Doran-Jones and the Ospreys’ youngster Nicky Thomas he knew it was time to move on.

“It was difficult in some aspects to leave but it was time,” he said. “I will always love Gloucester because that’s my town but I don’t regret going.

“Gloucester said to me that if I stayed there was a chance I’d be going on loan, I didn’t really want that. I wanted a club that wanted me and this opportunity came up and I took it with both hands.

“I wouldn’t say I felt unwanted but I was down the pecking order and knew it was time to think about my future.”

Knight is still young in propping years and has already been learning from the seasoned propping of Harris and 35-year-old former Leicester loosehead Boris Stankovich.

“Brok has a lot of knowledge and Boris is a seasoned professional, what he doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing,” said Knight.

“I’ve still got a lot to learn and a lot of experience to gain. I know there is room for improvement and that I am far from the finished article. I just want to keep getting better and progress.”

Knight will make his first appearance in a Dragons jersey when they host Nottingham in a conditioning match at their Ystrad Mynach training base on Friday evening (kick-off 7pm).