NEWPORT Gwent Dragons tighthead Dan Way is desperate to grasp his chance to impress ahead of the arrival of South African prop Brok Harris.

Way will make his first start of the season in tomorrow's must-win Guinness Pro12 clash with Treviso at Rodney Parade.

The 27-year-old from Swindon has had to be patient after backing up new boy Lloyd Fairbrother from the bench in the defeats to Connacht, the Ospreys and Glasgow.

The roles are reversed this weekend with Way, who missed the end of last season with a nerve problem that triggered back and ankle injuries, ready to wear the 3 jersey for the first time since the New Year's Day defeat to Cardiff Blues in the capital.

With 29-year-old Stormers prop Harris set to arrive in Wales in November once his Currie Cup commitments with Western Province are over, the current tightheads need to impress.

"I haven't seen that much of Brok but he will come over here with plenty of experience," said Way, who made his Dragons debut in November, 2010.

"But I can't afford to worry about that, I just have to do my job and make sure I do what the coaches want, scrummage well against Treviso and make sure I don't make many mistakes.

"It'll be good to have Brok here because we need plenty of tightheads in the squad and we have seen what can happen with injuries to our centres (all five missed last week's game against Glasgow)."

Way may be approaching his prime propping years but is still inexperienced compared to many full-timers.

He earned a regional deal in 2011 after catching the eye with Pontypool and Newport in the Premiership and the former personal trainer, who is now Welsh-qualified, hopes that his game will come on leaps and bounds thanks to the Dragons' summer recruitment drive.

"I've been here a few seasons now but before that I was playing at a level that was a lot lower in Swindon, so it's great to have guys like Boris Stankovich and Ian Gough here.

"We have been putting a lot of work in on our set piece and there is loads of experience in the pack now and you can feel the difference.

"The whole pack is getting looked at and (former Scotland prop) Bruce Douglas does the scrummaging sessions along with Kingsley (Jones, head coach) while the more experienced guys keep people in check."

That hard graft will hopefully pay off tomorrow against their Italian visitors, who will still be a threat up front despite losing top talent like Lorenzo Cittadini, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Michele Rizzo, Alberto De Marchi, Robert Barbieri and Mano Vosawai in the summer.

"You know that Treviso will come with a big, physical pack and we have to match them there," said Way.