DRAGONS hooker Elliot Dee is hungry for more Wales action but says he can’t afford to get too personal in his Boxing Day battle with Test teammate Kristian Dacey.

The 23-year-old from Newbridge earned his first cap as a replacement for the Cardiff Blues hooker against Georgia in the autumn and then added energy off the bench for a second time in the win against South Africa.

The battle for the hooker spots in Warren Gatland’s Six Nations squad is fierce; Lions front rower Ken Owen is a shoo-in but Ryan Elias and Scott Baldwin also in the mix along with Dee and Dacey.

The coming weeks will be key for international hopefuls with the Dragons hosting the Blues and Ospreys before a trip to the Scarlets.

A good personal festive period would do Dee’s claim the power of good but it’s team first, international hopes second for the front rower.

“I had a taste of it in the autumn and once you’ve had a bite you want the whole plate,” said Dee, who has scored seven tries in eight regional outings this season.

“I am enjoying my rugby at the moment and obviously want to be involved with Wales as much as I can. It’s an honour and I will do as much as I can to be in the Six Nations squad.

“In derbies everyone knows everyone, they want to get one up on each other. Kristian Dacey will have his head on and will be coming for me, I’ll be the same, but I don’t think you can let individual battles get in the way.

“If you are too personal then you lose your head. We have to work as a team to get the result.”

The Dragons haven’t got the result against regional rivals in the Guinness PRO14 since Dee was a try scorer in the famous 23-17 win at Cardiff Arms Park on Boxing Day, 2014.

They have lost 17 on the bounce since then but it looked like they were poised for a rare success in the capital in October only to see a 21-10 half-time lead turn into a 43-29 loss.

“There’s still a bit of disappointment from playing them down there,” said Dee, scorer of one of the Dragons’ four tries in that clash.

“I’ve never been so sure at half-time that we were going to win a game and then after giving everything first half we ran out of steam. Hopefully we can repay them a favour.

“The training week is spiced up a bit; there’s a bit more riding on the game in a derby and unfortunately we haven’t got a good result for a number of seasons.

“I was lucky enough to be involved in the win at the Blues in 2014 and it was one of the best feelings in my rugby career.

“We want to get the monkey off our backs and put in a good performance to repay the fans. I am sure there will be great support for a Christmas derby and we are really hungry for the result.”