Former Wales lock Andrew Coombs backs Dragons hooker Elliot Dee to make the grade at Test level

Lock Coombs was forced to hang up his boots at the start of the month after a year-long struggle with a knee injury, bringing to an end a remarkable career in which he fought back from being released by the Rodney Parade region to earning another pro deal then winning 10 caps for his country.

The 31-year-old earned his chance with Wales in the 2013 Six Nations after some typically forthright performances for the Dragons in derbies, going toe-to-toe with the likes of Bradley Davies, Sam Warburton and Richard Hibbard.

And he believes embracing abrasiveness could help 22-year-old Dee, who has long been on the radar of the Wales management, make the next step.

Coombs said: "I did try and push the boundaries and spent most of my game trying to annoy people and get on their bad side!

"There's an opportunity for other players to step up now because you definitely need one in every team. Cory Hill is quite niggly but one guy who stands out is Elliot Dee, he's not the biggest guy in the world but I wasn't the biggest for a second row.

"Elliot is one to the future and I took to him straight away when he came into the team when, to be honest, not many did because he's a bit too cocky and full of himself!

"I saw a lot of myself in him – he just wanted to take people on and get stuck into them. I really respected him for that.

"Now I just want him to go on and achieve what he is capable of because he is definitely good enough to play for Wales.

"He was unlucky with injury last season but he is in good nick at the moment and has another year of experience under his belt. Elliot is definitely one from the Dragons who I see forcing their way into the Wales squad."

If Dee can join Ken Owens and Scott Baldwin in Warren Gatland's squad this autumn then he will take a step towards joining Coombs, Wales' 1,099th Test player, on the honours board outside the Principality Stadium changing rooms.

"Injuries gave me an opportunity but I left the field after playing Ireland knowing that I had done enough to wear the jersey again," he said.

"I remember driving to the game on the bus and most debutants would be nervous but I was 28 and was almost giggling to myself in the seat as we went into the city centre, thinking 'if I'm good enough then great, if I'm not then I'm not'.

"I just wanted to do what I always had done, get in peoples' faces and be abrasive. My style of play never changed from Newport to the Dragons to Wales – I always wore my heart on my sleeve and I didn't want to do anything else."