WALES will give Hallam Amos every chance to press his claims for a Six Nations recall after deciding against releasing him for Newport Gwent Dragons' clash against Connacht, writes Chris Kirwan.

The 21-year-old wing/full-back has started the last four games for his region after making a rapid recovery from the shoulder injury he suffered against England at the World Cup.

He was released for last Friday's 17-15 loss to Ulster in Belfast after being left out of the 23-man squad for the Six Nations opener against Ireland.

However, with Wales having a swift turnaround for the home Test against Scotland, boss Warren Gatland has not made him available for tonight's Rodney Parade encounter with the Guinness Pro12 play-off contenders.

The five-times capped three-quarter will instead help with preparations for the encounter with Scotland and attempt to put the pressure on the back three of Liam Williams, George North and Tom James.

"We've got to give everybody in the squad an opportunity to train and compete for their places," said forwards coach Robin McBryde.

"The difficult situations arise with those players that play outside of Wales, because they will be forced to go back to their clubs. We won't have a choice with regards to keeping them.

"We can't take away from our own preparation time because we are going to lose the 'foreign' players and that will mean fewer numbers in training which won't allow us to do as much under pressure. We've got to look after ourselves."

There are three squad members who were not involved last week that play outside of Wales – Bristol's Matthew Morgan, Bath's Dom Day and Gloucester's Ross Moriarty.

Amos is vying for a place on the bench with Alex Cuthbert, an unused replacement at the Aviva Stadium, and Gareth Anscombe, who pulled out of the game with a tight hamstring.

The young Dragons back could be hindered by the timing of his region's game as Wales were loath to release him from their first day back in camp on Wednesday without getting a chance to state a claim for a place but their schedule could well mean he goes without a game this weekend.

Amos could be released for more game time next weekend when the Six Nations takes a break and the Dragons travel to Treviso.