Dragons on verge of landing Will

THE Dragons are on the point of finally sealing the deal to bring Will Rowlands to Welsh regional rugby.

One of the Welsh game’s longest-running transfer sagas is set to end with the 6ft 8in, 19st 5lb Wasps lock committing his future to the Gwent region.

His impending arrival in Newport will be a huge boost to the Rodney Parade team.

They lost Cory Hill to Cardiff Blues in the summer and are in need of bolstering their front five. Leinster’s James Ryan plundered their line-out on the opening weekend of the PRO14 and after two rounds the Welsh side have only a 78 percent success rate in that area, the worst return in the league.

Rowlands should help improve matters and he is a big contributor around the field.

During the 2018-19 campaign, which ended with the Hammersmith, West London-born forward being voted players’ player of the season, he put in 257 tackles for Wasps in the Gallagher Premiership and played in 21 of the club’s 22 league fixtures.

The near 20-stone player also pushes his weight in the scrums.

It is believed the move to bring him to Newport is all but done, though it isn’t certain when he’ll formally become a Dragons player, with Wasps playing in the Gallagher Premiership final this weekend.

Assuming there are no last-minute hitches, he will offer the Dragons the kind of ballast they have lacked in the front five since the departure of Luke Charteris.

Rowlands is eligible to play for Wales through his Welsh-born father Jeremy, and pitching up on this side of the River Severn would strengthen his chances of playing a front-line role in Wayne Pivac’s national squad.

Rowlands junior is also operating at the top of his game, with a powerful performance for Wasps in their Gallagher Premiership semi-final win over Bristol last weekend.

The big man didn’t miss a tackle, carried strongly, achieved a turnover, packed a major presence in the mauls and was a key player in a 100 percent line-out.