UNCAPPED Newport Gwent Dragons centre Jack Dixon has been told that history shows he can turn a Wales training squad place into a shock World Cup call-up.

The 20-year-old from Newbridge has been rewarded for a super end to the season by being named in Warren Gatland’s 47-strong group for the England 2015 preparations.

Dixon, who has played in the last three Junior World Championships, has long been on the national coach’s radar and now has a chance to impress at close quarters.

The door has been left ajar by Jonathan Davies’ knee ligament injury with Jamie Roberts and Scott Williams now likely to wear 12 and 13 and George North, Tyler Morgan, Cory Allen and Dixon the other midfield options.

“Jack is very young and talented,” said Wales assistant coach Rob Howley. “He is a very strong ball carrier and a good defensive player.

“He will be in an environment alongside Jamie and Scott where he can learn a lot and drive competition and standards forward.

“Jack has come out of the Under-20s and is playing with a young back line (at the Dragons), so when you go into the national set-up the learning from peers is hugely influential.

“There is a lot of development and growth in his game and hopefully we will see that in the next couple of months.”

Dixon, who is primarily an inside centre, is joined in the squad by three Dragons teammates that were in Gatland’s Six Nations squad with shoo-in number eight Taulupe Faletau joined by the dual contracted pair of wing/full-back Hallam Amos, capped once against Tonga in 2013, and uncapped centre/wing Morgan.

The three burgeoning backs have been told that this isn’t just a learning experience and that they have every chance of breaking into Gatland’s 31.

“Everyone remembers the 2011 World Cup and Taulupe Faletau and Rhys Priestland (breaking into the squad and becoming starters),” said Howley.

“Any high performing team, when you have the right ingredients of the core and culture, gives players the opportunity to develop and come through.

“They are hugely talented players so hopefully in the right environment we can develop and give them the opportunity to make the final 31. That’s what our role is as coaches, to maximise that talent.”

“We’ve been a pretty settled squad since 2011,” continued Howley. “You just need sometimes players to look over their shoulder and have a bit of competition.

“Players have never got complacent in our squad but World Cup year you have the opportunity to have a wider squad and hopefully create an appetite and competition. That happened in 2011 and hopefully that will happen again.”

Gatland will name his 31-strong squad on Monday, August 31 after their second warm-up Test against Ireland in Dublin.