Former Wales Under-20s captain Harry Beddall is punching above his weight for Dragons after impressively making the step up to the United Rugby Championship (URC).
The open-side flanker arrived at Rodney Parade last summer from Leicester and the initial plan was to bed him in gently in Super Rygbi Cymru with Ebbw Vale.
However, the 21-year-old from Cardiff has made seven senior outings, five of them starts, and produced a remarkable defensive display at Munster last weekend.
The official URC stats recorded 33 tackles by Beddall in the 22-20 loss in Cork, as Dragons came agonisingly close to a huge upset.
The 5ft 10in (1.78m), 14st 11lb (93.9kg) flanker is ranked 15th in the league tackle chart on 99 despite only featuring in six of 10 rounds.
“He started to make it so hard not to pick him. He is phenomenal and a great talent with a great attitude,” said Dragons defence coach Dale MacLeod.
“I have never seen someone with such survivor skills. No matter where he is, whether squashed or held down, he fights to get up and to the next tackle.”
