BRODIE Coghlan may have gone up against Wales legend Ken Owens and Springboks superstar Bismarck du Plessis in his first month in professional rugby but the promising forward will have to keep pushing to earn a proper look at the quality of Test hookers.

The 23-year-old from Newport will have had a tinge of disappointment when he didn’t get the call on Monday for the Wales squad for the autumn internationals.

Coghlan’s form in the first block of the United Rugby Championship combined with a shortage of contenders for the third spot meant he leapt into the selection conversation.

However, with some relief Cardiff’s Evan Lloyd, the five-times capped hooker who has been the cover in 2024, has been declared fit.

That means Coghlan’s pre-season targets don’t rapidly change; he remains as a front-row novice rather than suddenly having great expectations as a Wales squad member.

Granted, Lloyd is arguably less experienced than the Dragons prospect but it’s worth remembering where the combative hooker is in his burgeoning career - he isn’t yet an established professional.

On Sunday it will be five years since Coghlan made his Premiership debut for Newport as a replacement, then three years ago he was sent north to develop with RGC under the tutelage of Ceri Jones.

His Dragons debut was against the Lions in Johannesburg in December, 2022 while his first start was versus Glasgow the following January.

PROMISING: Brodie Coghlan has started the season strongly for the DragonsPROMISING: Brodie Coghlan has started the season strongly for the Dragons (Image: Kian Abdullah/Huw Evans Agency)

Coghlan quickly developed a reputation for being feisty in training - occasionally overstepping the mark - but it's only at the start of the current campaign that he has really established himself in the matchday 23.

With Elliot Dee sidelined, he has started all five games and been combative and, until a tough outing last weekend against Benetton, accurate at the set piece.

He has now made 24 Dragons appearances, of which 9 have been with 2 on his back.

Coughlan is still a work in progress and this season should be about becoming a United Rugby Championship regular.

There was plenty of hype about his displays and speculation about him being the back-up for Dewi Lake and Ryan Elias but instead he just has to keep grafting.

Perhaps Gatland & Co will invite him to get a taste of international training over the coming weeks but Coghlan’s post-Connacht focus should be on making sure he has 2 on his back at Cardiff Arms Park at the end of the month.

He needs to make sure that Dee isn’t a shoo-in when he returns from injury, he needs to stay ahead of James Benjamin, he needs to ensure Oli Burrows (who has the size profile that Gatland loves) is sent off to learn in Super Rygbi Cymru along with Sam Scarfe.

It’s easy to say that Coghlan’s time will come but that will only be the case if he stays focused on the above objectives and keeps making an impression in the URC.

STRONG: Dragons prop Leon Brown has made a solid start to the season after injury issuesSTRONG: Dragons prop Leon Brown has made a solid start to the season after injury issues (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

OTHER DISAPPOINTED DRAGONS

The Dragons had a total of four players in the Wales squad with scrum-half Rhodri Williams a surprise inclusion – and beneficiary of Gareth Davies’ retirement – along with the expected call-ups for lock Ben Carter, number eight Aaron Wainwright and wing Rio Dyer.

If the Rodney Parade club were winning more regularly then they would have a better case for a larger contingent.

They have several contenders pushing hard but the message is clear – keep performing and you’ll be in the conversation come January.

Tighthead Leon Brown misses out despite having a solid start to the campaign that shows the conditioning regime is working.

The prop has been available for selection in every round of the URC and has played in three of five games, being rested for Leinster away and then a late withdrawal against the Sharks due to illness and not injury.

Brown should benefit from being given another careful block of fitness so that he can fire over the winter and hopefully come back into the mix for the Six Nations.

Shane Lewis-Hughes has made a strong start to the campaign after arriving from Cardiff, impressing with his aggression and intensity.

The back rower, whose ability to cover lock is valuable, has aspirations of breaking back into the Wales squad but needs a larger body of work to break into a fiercely-competitive section of the team.

The same applies for Taine Basham, who has shown flashes of getting back to the form that saw him star in the 2021 autumn series.

The dynamic back rower is best as an openside but there needs to be some realism here – he is up against two massively impressive players in Jac Morgan and Tommy Reffell.

Basham needs to keep improving on the nuts and bolts of the game to go along with the explosive moments.

Lock Matthew Screech did well for Wales in the summer but Will Rowlands and Adam Beard are back while a move has been made to secure Gloucester prospect Freddie Thomas.

If the Dragons up their win rate in the URC and progress into the knockout stages in Europe then they will have more of a shout of bigger representation at Test level, potentially for the likes of centre Aneurin Owen and back rower Harri Keddie to also put their names in the mix.