AFTER being denied a debut in Edinburgh by a hamstring strain, teenage scrum-half Dan Babos is desperate to make an impression on his first Dragons outing tonight, writes Chris Kirwan.

The 19-year-old from Cwmbran will wear 9 on his back in the Anglo-Welsh Cup clash with the Scarlets at Rodney Parade (kick-off 7.30pm).

In the absence of the injured Sarel Pretorius and Tavis Knoyle, Babos was set to feature for the Dragons in the second week of the season but suffered an injury just minutes after being told he was in the squad for the Guinness PRO14 clash at Myreside.

“They announced the squad and then in training, five minutes in, my hamstring just popped,” said the half-back, who is still eligible to add to his Wales Under-18s caps this season.

“I was devastated because those opportunities don’t come up that often. I was gutted but another opportunity has come up, so I’ve just got to take it.”

Babos, who featured for Ebbw Vale in the Premiership last week, is one of a glut of young prospects that will take to the field for Bernard Jackman’s side.

He is joined in making a debut by loosehead Josh Reynolds while wing Joe Goodchild, on-loan Ospreys centre Joe Thomas and RGC 1404 number eight Huw Worthington only made bows at Northampton last week.

Wing Jared Rosser made his regional debut in September while centre Connor Edwards and on-trial scrum-half Callum Morris, a Wales Under-18s international from the north west of England, are set for a first taste of senior rugby.

“Bernard is giving us a feel for it. It shows us where we need to get to and show us what top-level rugby is like,” said Babos.

“In the Anglo-Welsh the coaches do tend to give younger boys a chance and it’s ideal for us; PRO14 games have a lot more riding on it, but this gives us a chance to show what we are about and develop.

“It’s not all about the result, it’s about getting used to the standard so that when we go back to the Premiership we have that experience behind us.”

And the young scrum-half intends to show plenty of youthful exuberance after learning first-hand from livewire South African Pretorius.

“I just try and create as much tempo as possible and try to create quick ball. I’d like to think I’m quite accurate, bossy on the pitch and having a little snipe if it’s on,” said Babos.

“Sarel is excellent at that and it’s great to learn from a player like him. He’s top class and the way he attacks the line is ridiculous.

“We’ve done a couple of analysis sessions and Sarel shows me where he sees that there are opportunities. I just sit by him and see what he is doing, it’s good getting the perspective of players like Sarel and Charlie Davies.”

The Dragons are captained by flanker Ollie Griffiths just four weeks after he underwent surgery on a jaw surgery suffered against Enisei-STM in Moscow.

Experience comes from centre Adam Warren and fly-half turned full-back Angus O’Brien in the three-quarters while tighthead Lloyd Fairbrother, lock Matthew Screech and Griffiths provide it up front.

Dragons: A O’Brien, J Rosser, J Thomas, A Warren, J Goodchild, A Robson, D Babos, J Reynolds, G Ellis, L Fairbrother, J Davies, M Screech, B Roach, O Griffiths (captain), H Worthington. Reps: E Shipp, S Hobbs, B Harris, R Landman, J Benjamin, C Morris, G Henson, C Edwards.

Scarlets: T Lewis, M Griffiths, R Jones, B McBryde, T Rogers, J Maynard, L Rees, S Thomas, T Myhill, J Sebastian, J Helps, J Jones, S Worrall, D Davis, T Phillips (captain). Reps: S Phillips, C Thomas, S Jenkins, C Long, J Powell, G George, S Lloyd, D Ford.