Dragons hope to lure Welsh playmaker back home

OWEN Williams is an audacious loan target for the ambitious Dragons.

Wales international playmaker Williams has fallen out of favour at Gloucester this season and has spent long periods out of the Cherry and Whites’ side.

The 26-year-old, below, has two years left on his Kingsholm contract, but the Dragons remain keen to bring him to Rodney Parade and are exploring the possibility of a temporary switch.

Dragons head coach Bernard Jackman is eager to bolster the options available to the Gwent region in the No.10 jersey and has already signed Josh Lewis from Bath.

Williams started Wales’ autumn clashes with Australia and New Zealand at inside-centre, but did not play a single minute during the Six Nations with Hadleigh Parkes preferred in that position.

Wales boss Warren Gatland has claimed Williams’ chances of playing for his country are being hindered by plying his trade in the Premiership, despite the player insisting he is happy at Kingsholm.

Gloucester insist they are yet to receive any offer for Williams, but it has not stopped Jackman from investigating the prospect of enticing one of the Premiership’s deadliest goal kickers to Gwent.

The Dragons are longterm admirers of the former Scarlets and Leicester fly-half and are prepared to wait until his Gloucester contract expires should a loan approach fall through.

Jackman is already under pressure from fans at Rodney Parade having overseen the worst season in the Dragons’ history.

The former Ireland hooker will be expected to deliver better results next season and has already recruited Williams’ Gloucester team-mates Ross Moriarty and Richard Hibbard.

Joining them in Newport will be Ospreys wing Dafydd Howells who has signed on to join Jackman’s revolution. The 23-year-old wing or full-back won two senior international caps on Wales’ 2013 tour to Japan having not played any regional rugby before his selection.

But a series of devastating injuries have resulted in the highly promising back struggling to fulfil his potential at the Liberty Stadium.

Jackman has opted to give the Brecon product another opportunity and believes he is the man to get the best out of his talents.