Dragons mulling over move for ex-Wales centre Scott Williams

Williams has been without a club since leaving the Scarlets in the summer but, after previously training alone, has linked up with the Rodney Parade club.

The 58-times capped centre, who turned 34 earlier this month, has been working with Dai Flanagan’s squad with a view to earning a contract.

The Dragons have allowed Hughes to leave at the end of the first block of the United Rugby Championship to move to Major League Rugby with DC Glory.

That will leave them down to Aneurin Owen, Joe Westwood, Harry Wilson and Harri Ackerman, who is close to a return from a broken leg, as their specialist midfield options.

Wilson, a summer signing from the Waratahs, is the oldest of the quartet at the age of 24 and the Dragons are looking to add some experience.

That has led to Williams training with the squad in Ystrad Mynach with a big possibility of him playing for a third pro club in Wales after two spells with the Scarlets either side of time at the Ospreys.

ICON: Wales centre Scott Williams, pictured scoring at England on the way to a Grand Slam, is training with the Dragons with a view to a move (Image: PA)

“Scott is a quality man and we are losing Steff, who brings seniority and leadership to our young midfield and back line,” said head coach Flanagan, who worked with Williams in Llanelli.

“How do you fill that void on the training field, in meetings, following behaviour? It’s important to put good senior players around people.

“This is a good chance to have Scott involved for a few days and get him ready if an opportunity comes, while it means Joe Westwood, Aneurin Owen, Harry Wilson and Harri Ackerman have a role model.

“Welsh rugby only has a certain amount of role models and Scott is definitely one of them; an opportunity has arisen to get him in the building and how long he is here, time will tell. Just having him around, people can pick ideas off him.”

OPPORTUNITY: Scott Williams is training with the Dragons with a view to a move (Image: David Davies)

Asked if there was a chance of Williams earning a contract for when the URC returns at the end of November, Flanagan said: “For sure, he is chomping at the bit. He has an itch to scratch and people in that situation are usually pretty determined.

“We only have four midfielders when Steff leaves and I have found out in the past that it can get very thin, very quickly.

“If you lose one then you can lose two or three, so there could be an opportunity to see him in a Dragons shirt one day.

“I need good people around the building to show what good looks like – we need international-quality, high achievers and Scott is certainly one of those.”

Williams, a key figure in the 2012 Grand Slam and 2013 Six Nations triumph, won the last of his 58 caps against Ireland in a World Cup warm-up in 2019.