SAMOA lock Brandon Nansen has announced that he has left the Dragons.

The 26-year-old was not named on the Rodney Parade region’s list of leavers in mid-May because negotiations were continuing over a fresh deal.

Despite Wales lock Cory Hill’s departure for Cardiff Blues, Nansen has now headed for the exit.

The Dragons are set to confirm the arrival of Welsh-qualified lock Joe Maksymiw from Connacht soon while they are also monitoring Will Rowlands, although the Wales lock is currently under contract at Wasps.

“We are always interested in quality players,” said director of rugby Dean Ryan. “It’s an interesting and difficult time for every region in terms of their finances but at the same time we have a responsibility to look at how we can develop.

“Every good player, especially every good Welsh player, is of interest to us. We want to talk to all of them because it’s a journey how we develop and making the Dragons a conversation piece for players, in terms of it potentially being a home for them, is progress from where we were last year.”

Nansen, however, won’t be an option for Ryan’s boilerhouse when rugby returns on August 22.

South Wales Argus:

"Just like that my two years in Wales have come to an end," he wrote on Instagram. "Thank you to everyone who welcomed me into the Dragons family.

"It's been a rollercoaster of a ride. I've made some great memories and lifelong friends. Onto the next challenge."

Nansen arrived from Stade Francais in the summer of 2018 when then head coach Bernard Jackman hoped the Auckland-born forward, who had been a member of the Blues’ Super Rugby squad, would add oomph to his tight five.

“Brandon is a very aggressive and abrasive lock, a big ball carrier who provides physicality at the set piece and maul,” said the Irishman.

Unfortunately, Nansen suffered the same injury misfortune with the Dragons as he had in Paris.

South Wales Argus:

The forward was just starting to show the sort of form that Jackman had hoped for when he ruptured his hamstring at the Scarlets in January 2019, ending his first season after 12 games.

Three-times capped Nansen missed out on the World Cup and then suffered a broken forearm in the opening stages of the pre-season fixture against the Scarlets.

He featured just three times for Ryan, all of those appearances off the bench and were a combined total of 42 minutes.

The Dragons had raised the possibility of a new deal at a lower rate but the Samoan is heading for a fresh challenge.

“I believe Brandon has some other options that I would hate to stand in the way of, not knowing if we can deliver something the other side of it,” said Ryan.

“I was actually only aware of it from social media myself but we had been holding conversations and were keen to see if we could see more of Brandon.”

Matthew Screech and Joe Davies were the regular second rowers last season in the absence of the injured Hill and Nansen.

Max Williams, 22, will look to push on in 2020/21 and 19-year-old Ben Carter is rated highly by the Dragons and the Wales Under-20 management.

Back-rowers Lewis Evans and Huw Taylor have previously shifted forward to cover at lock.