THE Dragons are hopeful that Wales stars Hallam Amos and Leon Brown will be released to boost their side for Sunday's Guinness PRO14 clash with Ulster at Rodney Parade (kick-off 3pm), writes Chris Kirwan.

Full-back/wing Amos and tighthead Brown are members of Warren Gatland's Six Nations squad but have been part of the region's preparations for this weekend's fixture in Newport.

They will return to the Vale Resort tomorrow as Grand Slam chasing Wales get ready for their trip to Murrayfield to face Scotland on Saturday week.

The Dragons hope that they will then be released for game time to provide a boost after last week's 57-7 hammering at Benetton.

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Amos was a replacement in the round two fixture against Italy in Rome when he won his 19th cap while Brown has not played since the start of December because of a broken thumb.

Caretaker head coach Ceri Jones said: "They have got another day of training with Wales but we are hoping that they will be back with us providing they come through that. It would be a massive boost.

"We have got to make sure Leon comes through his return to play protocol but he has been back with us, while Hallam has been going through the roles ready for the weekend.

"Leon has done live scrums and provided that is all clear he will be back with us, more than likely off the bench because Lloyd Fairbrother has been performing pretty well."

The Dragons are stretched in the back row after season-ending injuries to Ollie Griffiths (bicep) and Nic Cudd (knee), while James Benjamin (neck) is out until the end of March.

They have been boosted by the release of Wales Under-20s pair Taine Basham and Lennon Greggains, who join Harrison Keddie, Lewis Evans and Huw Taylor as options for Jones.

The management team are set to ring the changes in the back line after the Treviso nightmare with fly-half Josh Lewis and centres Jarryd Sage and Adam Warren pushing for recalls, while full-back Jordan Williams is back in the mix after a shoulder injury.