NEW Dragons boss Bernard Jackman has chosen Wales lock Cory Hill as his captain for the coming season, writes Chris Kirwan.

The 25-year-old will succeed Lewis Evans after enjoying a breakthrough season in 2016/17 in which he made his Wales debut against Australia, won six caps and was called up to cover for injuries on the Lions tour to New Zealand.

Jackman revealed last month that he was still mulling over his options and he has plumped for Hill.

“It was a really proud moment when Bernard asked me to take over the captaincy,” said the lock.

“I thought that Lewis did a fantastic job, despite the difficult season that we had and having spoken to him I know that he is 100 per cent behind me, and with his experience he will be great to have around.”

"He is the outstanding leader in the group," said Jackman. "He has a similar mindset to me - he is honest, wants to get better quickly and is willing to put the hard work in.

"His experiences with high performance teams like Wales and the Lions have just reinforced the habits he has naturally.

"He is just no-nonsense and if you look at Valleys rugby it has always been based around that.

"The abrasiveness style of play and character and we have gone away from that. We need to get that back."

Hill will have experienced right-hand men in the form of back row forward Evans and lock Rynard Landman as well as new recruits Gavin Henson and Zane Kirchner.

There are also young leaders in the group in flanker Ollie Griffiths, who is the youngest captain in Newport RFC’s history after leading the Black and Ambers as a 19-year-old in 2014/15, and 22-year-old Wales wing Hallam Amos, who captained the Dragons for the first time in Treviso last season.