FORMER Dragons winger George Gasson is set to feature for the Ospreys in the Celtic Cup ahead of his return to the World Rugby Sevens Series, writes Chris Kirwan.

The 22-year-old from Caerphilly was released by the Rodney Parade region in the summer after making four appearances in 2017/18 and scoring a memorable try at Cardiff Blues.

Gasson didn’t feature for the Dragons last season but was a Wales sevens regular.

South Wales Argus:

The winger will now link up with the Ospreys before the start of the 2019/20 World Series in which Welsh, English and Scottish players will try to impress ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

A number of Welsh Rugby Union contracted sevens specialists will prepare for the campaign by training with the regions.

On Thursday the Argus reported that Owen Jenkins and Ben Roach were with the Dragons, Cameron Lewis has joined Gasson at the Ospreys, Dafydd Smith and Cai Devine are at Cardiff Blues and captain Luke Treharne is at the Scarlets along with head coach Richie Pugh.

“The fact that our core sevens boys are in Celtic Cup action and training with the regions is one thing, but it also gives them the experience of being in a new environments and with new players,” said Pugh.

“It’s a challenge for them mentally and physically, which sits well in their calendar because otherwise it would be a 19-week pre-season before Dubai in December.”

The World Series calendar has been confirmed with Los Angeles replacing Las Vegas as the American venue.

The final round is on the last weekend of May with the sevens running between July 27 and August 1 in Tokyo.

The Celtic Cup starts in a fortnight with the Dragons XV, coached by former England number eight, travelling to Galway to face Connacht on Friday, August 23.

All of the fixture dates are set to be confirmed next week with the Dragons playing both Munster A, when they will unveil their new kits for 2018/19, and the Scarlets at Rodney Parade.

They also host Ulster and the Ospreys with those games likely to be played at grounds in the region, and not the Dragons' training base in Ystrad Mynach.

The tournament has been revamped after last year the teams were split into Welsh and Irish conferences.

This time they are all lumped together and play each other once before the top two contest the final on Saturday, October 12.

With a later start to the Guinness PRO14, it is likely the Dragons will select stronger sides than last year, when they enjoyed a solitary success against Connacht.