LOOSEHEAD Luke Garrett hopes the British and Irish Cup campaign can help him keep the heat on the senior props on Newport Gwent Dragons' books.

The 20-year-old from Tredegar made his regional debut against the Scarlets at Judgement Day last April and impressed the Dragons management in pre-season.

He has continued to do well with Cross Keys in the Principality Premiership while Boris Stankovich and Phil Price have shared the workload in the Guinness Pro12 but this weekend presents a big chance to impress.

Garrett will feature in the Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select side that takes on Connacht Eagles at the Sportsground in Galway.

And the prop, who was a member of the Wales side at the World Rugby U20 Championship in Italy last summer, believes the stern tests against the Irish province, Doncaster and Jersey present a golden opportunity to catch the eye and develop.

"It's different to the Premiership and is a step up," said Garrett, who played in the cross-border competition for Keys last season.

"It's a really good standard and you go up against some big professional packs so if you do well then it gives you a great chance to kick on and push for the Dragons squad.

"This is a shop window for a lot of us and we have to match these sides up front if we want to do well in the tournament.

"There are a few Premiership boys coming in who will want to impress and so will those who haven't been regulars for the Dragons."

The Dragons enjoyed a tune-up against Harlequins last month and Garrett believes the performance in the 31-20 defeat bodes well.

"That was a really strong Harlequins side so I think we have got a good chance of going far in the tournament," he said.

"We will have a good block of training this week so that we can go firing into it and it's important that we start off well."

The Dragons kick off against the Eagles, who enjoyed a 43-24 win against Leinster A at Donnybrook last week, then host Jersey at Cross Keys a week on Sunday.

They then travel to Doncaster on Saturday, December 12 and welcome the Knights to Bedwas' Bridge Field on Saturday, December 19.

The away trip to Jersey is on Saturday, January 16 with the group finale against Connacht at Ebbw Vale's Eugene Cross Park on Saturday, January 23.