CHRIS KIRWAN: Why Warren should be a contender to solve Wales' midfield headache

Questions turned to Wales and Wainwright talked excitedly about having a taste for Test rugby thanks to his then solitary appearance as a replacement against Argentina.

Warren, quick as a flash and with a playful pat of the back row forward's knee, made a self-deprecating quip about being a one-cap wonder.

Eight years after the centre made his solitary international appearance in the Barbarians game that was only capped to get Martyn Williams to a century, perhaps it's time that he was considered a genuine Test contender.

Warren moved to the Dragons in search of regular rugby in 2015 after finding his route to the Scarlets midfield blocked by Wales duo Scott Williams and Jonathan Davies plus club icon Regan King.

Mission accomplished – the ever-dependable back has racked up 103 games out of a possible 124 in all competitions over four and a bit seasons.

In recent years it is often Jack Dixon and Tyler Morgan who are put in midfield when people put together their 'best Dragons XV' yet it says a lot that Lyn Jones, Kingsley Jones, Bernard Jackman, Ceri Jones and now Dean Ryan have all leaned heavily on the durable Warren.

The centre isn't flashy, he doesn't fend like Davies, sidestep like Willis Halaholo or truck it up like Jamie Roberts.

When rating his attributes you'd probably go with a load of 7 and 8/10s rather than the odd 9 mixed in with a few 6s.

Warren is a quiet man who goes about his on-field business with a minimum of fuss, and does so with superb efficiency. He is a real team player with strong skills in all departments and a low error count.

That's why he should surely be in the mix for the Six Nations squad, especially if he enjoys a strong derby period against his rivals over the next three weeks (selection-permitting in his battle with Dixon, Morgan, Tom Griffiths and Connor Edwards).

New Wales boss Wayne Pivac is faced by a midfield problem for the Six Nations with two of Warren Gatland's three specialist centres from the World Cup sidelined.

Davies, the best 13 in Europe, is definitely out of the tournament after suffering a knee injury in Japan while Owen Watkin, who has proved to be a dependable defensive substitute, is a big doubt.

That leaves Pivac with Hadleigh Parkes plus AN Other for the proper start of his reign.

Plenty of names have been flung forward with Scott Williams the natural fit provided he can prove his health after the back problem that hindered his bid for the World Cup.

George North has been a strong centre, in attack at least, when moved in while his fellow wings Josh Adams and Owen Lane have been suggested as possibles.

Admittedly that would provide some stardust that a Parkes-Warren combo wouldn't, but it would be an almighty risk going to Dublin in round two with such defensive vulnerability.

There is the next generation with the Scarlets' Steff Hughes and the Dragons' Morgan and Dixon all possible, but nobody has performed with the consistency of Warren over recent seasons.

Maybe the 29-year-old will end up as a one-cap wonder – and countless players would dream of having just a single international appearance – but Warren has never disappointed the Dragons and I am sure he wouldn't let Wales and Pivac down.

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THERE was a moment in the first half of the Dragons' stirring win against Worcester when lock Joe Davies, in his keenness to provide a big response to a Warriors penalty, chased the restart hard and appeared to make a crushing tackle with his face.

It certainly didn't look like textbook technique but that whole-hearted approach was shared by all 18 home players that took to the pitch at Rodney Parade.

Their commitment earned the raucous backing of the home crowd in what turned out to be a terrific win to keep alive the chance of a European Challenge Cup quarter-final, potentially in Newport.

The attendance was announced as 4,073. It was probably actually a figure that starts in 3 but Newport County show that is plenty to get the famous old ground rocking.

The Dragons got stuck into Worcester and earned the support of the fans, which perhaps gave them the edge in a tense tussle.

"In games like the weekend you can only show how much you care about a place, and we are showing some signs of that when people dig deep to get something," said director of rugby Dean Ryan.

The crowd will be bigger for Saturday's clash with the Scarlets and derby encounters really should sell out at a ground that holds just shy of 9,000.

The presence of away fans will add to the occasion and hopefully the endeavour, work and commitment of the Dragons can help the home support reach boiling point and limit the amount of Sosban Fach renditions.

The players can fuel the supporters, the supporters can fuel the players. When that happens Rodney Parade is a special place.