NEWPORT Gwent Dragons scrum-half Jonathan Evans says that he couldn't have lived with the regret of turning down a move to English big guns Bath.

The 22-year-old from Bargoed is focussed on finishing the season with a flourish before heading over the border to play for the big-spending Aviva Premiership title hopefuls.

Evans will join a cast of stars at the Rec, honing his skills with the likes of George Ford, Rhys Priestland, Jonathan Jospeh, Anthony Watson, Sam Burgess and Francois Louw.

He is giving up the comfort of being a Dragons regular for a tussle for the start with Fijian ace Niko Matawalu and promising Chris Cook and he says he is motivated by development.

"I've been at the region for five years and wanted to challenge myself," he said. "The main thought that entered by head was whether in 10 years time I would regret not taking that opportunity.

"I love the Dragons and have played all my age-grade rugby here but it's an opportunity to go to a club that's at the top of the Aviva Premiership and not many players get the chance to do that.

"I am fortunate enough to have worked with (Bath assistant coach and former Dragons boss) Darren Edwards before and he has talked me through what the culture is like there and I liked the sound of it.

"They way they described it to me was that every day they try to improve a player and I just want to be the best that I can. With the facilities and the way that they train I just think it will make me into a better player."

Evans will head over the bridge on the back of an excellent campaign in which he has won back the number 9 jersey after a frustrating 2013/14.

Seventeen of his 23 appearances have been starts and his form means the Dragons management are sorry that he is leaving and hope that he will be back in a few years.

"It's been a hard season and getting the start hasn't come around easy with Luc (Jones) and Richie (Rees), two great 9s, at the region," he said.

"It's been hard-fought but I've been training hard. I spent all last season on the sidelines because of injury so it's been nice to get a run of games. I've had the last four in a row and it's nice to get in your stride."

And Evans hopes to sign off with a winning streak with Saturday's trip to Treviso in the Guinness Pro12 followed by the European Rugby Challenge Cup showdown with Cardiff Blues in Newport.

"The quarter-final is a massive game," he said. "We've got to make sure we give a performance like we did against Ulster (a 26-22 home win against the title hopefuls).

"We've spoken about making Rodney Parade back into the fortress that it once was. It's been strange how we can win so many games away when in the past we went through seasons without winning away.

"We've got to play better here and make it a place that teams don't want to come to."