THE Dragons will hope to reap the rewards of Tom Griffiths learning from the best after signing the centre from European champions Saracens.

The 23-year-old from Gloucester, who is Welsh-qualified through his father, has swapped Allianz Park for Rodney Parade.

Comfortable at either inside or outside centre, he joins Adam Warren, Jack Dixon, Tyler Morgan, Connor Edwards, Tiaan Loots and Wales Under-20s prospect Aneurin Owen as a midfield option.

Griffiths was picked up by Sarries and was promoted to the senior squad in 2017 but found chances hard to come by because of the English champions’ strength and depth.

After spending time on loan at Bedford and London Scottish, the former Hartpury College student made his Gallagher Premiership debut off the bench against Worcester in May.

With Saracens adding England international Elliot Daly to their existing midfield riches, Griffiths is relishing a fresh start in Newport.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for me to join the Dragons,” said Griffiths, who will start training in Ystrad Mynach on Monday.

“I used to go and watch Wales when I was younger with my dad, so playing here was something that I always had an interest in. When the opportunity came up I decided I wanted to make the most of it and take it.

“I’ve spoken with (director of rugby) Dean Ryan and the things he has said to me, about where he sees Dragons going and where he wants the region to be, are really positive.

“I feel the potential here is phenomenal so hopefully good things are to come. I’ve met a few of the lads before, but I am pretty new to everyone so it is an opportunity to get to know some new people.

“Sometimes it is nice to not know anyone and to come in with no assumptions made about you.

“Over the last few years at Saracens I have struggled with some injuries at times and selection is hard. The team they have has a lot of talent in it so opportunities can be few and far between.

“It will be nice to get away from that, and there are some fantastic players here too so I can develop my game differently.”

South Wales Argus:

Ryan is relishing the chance to see Griffiths develop with more minutes on the pitch.

“Tom is a talented young centre who has spent the last four seasons working on his game in the Saracens set-up and also getting valuable game time on loan at London Scottish and Bedford Blues,” said the director of rugby.

“He is keen to now really prove himself, take on a new challenge, and excited by the opportunity at Dragons.

“We’re excited to see how Tom develops in our environment and look forward to him linking up with the squad.”

Griffiths follows fly-half Sam Davies and loosehead Jack Cosgrove through the door, along with Newport-born wing/full-back James McCarthy, who has returned from Munster on a development contract.