WALES boss Warren Gatland says Ross Moriarty isn’t hitting his own high standards but believes the Dragons-bound back row forward will be pressing hard for a Test recall when he gets more match sharpness.

The Gloucester powerhouse started in the Six Nations clashes with Scotland, England and Ireland but sat out last week’s win against Italy and misses out for the finale against France.

Taulupe Faletau returned against the Azzurri after being out with a knee injury and keeps his place at number eight while Josh Navidi and Justin Tipuric are either side of him.

A sign of Wales’ strength in depth in the back row is that Aaron Shingler, who has been in superb form for the Scarlets and in the opening three rounds, has to be content with a place on the bench while Ellis Jenkins will join Moriarty in the stands.

Moriarty is swapping Kingsholm for Rodney Parade next season and Gatland is confident that a strong end to the campaign with the Cherry and Whites will ensure he is right in the mix for the summer Tests against South Africa and Argentina.

“He’s not far away,” said the head coach about Moriarty, who has barely featured for Gloucester this season because of a serious back injury suffered on the Lions tour.

“We’ve got some real depth in that back row at the moment and for Ross it’s just about getting some more games under his belt.

“We know what a quality player he is but probably from his own standards he wasn’t happy with himself for the performance against Ireland.

“That’s not saying he’s definitely out of our thinking, it’s just at the moment we have got some real strength in depth in the back row.”

Shingler loses out after Tipuric impressed on his first start of the tournament following cameos against the Scots, English and Irish.

“I had a chat with Aaron Shingler, he’s unlucky,” said Gatland. “I was happy with the way the back row went last week.

“Justin Tipuric was outstanding, Toby is at number eight and Josh Navidi has been great for us over the last six months. We have been really pleased with his form and he deserves his opportunity.

“He is good over the ball and brings a physical element, which we will need against France.”