IT WOULD be pushing it to say that Taulupe Faletau hasn't been missed by Newport Gwent Dragons but the Wales ace has been impressed by the efforts of his regional teammates during the Six Nations.

The 24-year-old played every minute of Wales' campaign, making it 17 successive 80-minute international performances on the spin, but the Dragons could ill afford to give him an extra weekend of rest and recovery.

He was a replacement in Treviso, coming on to steady the ship in the last 15 minutes to help the Dragons take the spoils 32-17 and earn a first league win at the Stadio Monigo.

It would be a major surprise if Faletau was not named in the XV for the European Rugby Challenge Cup quarter-final against Cardiff Blues but the 45-times capped international is full of praise for the performances of James Thomas, recent recruit Nick Crosswell, James Benjamin and Nic Cudd, who have been to the fore in beating Leinster and Ulster.

He said: "The boys have been on fire! I was leaving for Six Nations duty when Nick was arriving (from New Zealand) and fair play to the boys in the back row, they have been doing well."

And he hopes to reap the rewards of his swift recall to Dragons colours in Italy when lining up against the Blues.

"It can be hard coming back into the region after being away with Wales," he said. "You tend to forget the calls when you are away for so long but the boys have been helping me pick them up again."

Faletau was a starter in the Dragons' LV= Cup semi-final defeat to Gloucester in 2011 but admits that encounter at Kingsholm pales into insignificance compared to the European derby with their nearest neighbours.

"This is definitely the biggest game I've been involved in since I've been with the Dragons," he said. "I haven't played in a quarter-final with them before.

"The boys have had a smile on their faces in training and we are just looking ahead to the game. We had a good result on the weekend out in Treviso and previous to that we've had some good wins.

"You have to keep calm in these derbies. We've got a lot of talent out wide and they just play what's in front of them at the moment.

"So we need to be calm, get it to them and they'll chuck it around when it needs to be chucked around. It's nice knowing they are outside us and they can make things happen."