DRAGONS back rower Taine Basham has been called up for the Six Nations and hailed as a superb athlete by Wales forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys.

The uncapped 20-year-old from Talywain trained with the Welsh team ahead of their tournament opener against Italy.

Dynamic Basham has now been called up for the Six Nations along with fellow bright prospect Dewi Lake, a hooker with the Ospreys.

Boss Wayne Pivac has opted to bring in the Dragons forward after suffering a blow with the loss of Josh Navidi through a hamstring injury.

Basham was rewarded for a superb start to the season by being called up for the uncapped November fixture against the Barbarians.

He didn't make the matchday 23 but impressed the management and continued to shine for the Dragons in the festive derbies.

Basham, who has scored eight tries in 15 appearances this season, will now keep the senior back rowers on their toes and profit from working with breakdown coach Sam Warburton.

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"Taine has big moments in every game that he plays," said former Wales captain Humphreys, who has taken over from Robin McBryde as the boss of the pack.

"You see a lot of players who are a pretty good at this and that, but Taine has moments that stand out.

"He has great awareness and we talk about how you have to be athletic to play international rugby – he is superbly athletic and powerful.

"He is a young man who is still learning the game but he definitely has all the attributes to play Test rugby and have an impact, and the same goes for (Dragons back row forward) Ollie Griffiths."

Navidi is expected to be out of action until at least round four of the tournament against England.

Head coach Pivac went with a trio of Aaron Wainwright, Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau for the win against Italy at Principality Stadium with Ross Moriarty making an impact off the bench.

Aaron Shingler was the other specialist back rower in the squad with locks Cory Hill and Seb Davies also able to slot in.

Basham is likely to be released for regional duty if not needed in the coming weeks.

The Dragons return to Guinness PRO14 action against Benetton at Rodney Parade next Saturday on a Six Nations rest weekend.

Dean Ryan's men travel to Glasgow on Saturday, February 22, the same day as Wales entertain France, and host the Cheetahs the following weekend when it is the second Six Nations break.