FLY-HALF Angus O'Brien believes the Singha Premiership 7s presents a golden opportunity for the Newport Gwent Dragons young guns to catch the eye of the management.

The 21-year-old from Caerleon was a member of the squad that lifted the trophy by stunning a Wasps side featuring England internationals Christian Wade, Elliot Daly and Joe Simpson at the Twickenham Stoop last summer.

O'Brien, who has played 21 times for Wales on the HSBC Sevens World Series, went on to make 13 appearances for the Dragons in 2015/16 and will battle with Dorian Jones and Nick Macleod for the 10 jersey in the coming season.

He believes next Friday's Welsh leg gives a chance for burgeoning talent to show head coach Kingsley Jones and his management team that they are ready to make the step up if needed.

And the fly-half points to the impact made by Harrison Keddie, the 20-year-old number eight who scored the title clincher at the death against Wasps, as evidence of the development potential of the shortened format.

"Harri is a big boy and last year we used him as an enforcer, muscle up front to get us going forward," said O'Brien.

"He only played a few minutes and got the winning try in the semi-final and the final to claim all the glory!

"He did then brilliantly at the World Rugby U20 Championship and U20 Six Nations and has benefited a lot from sevens."

The Dragons have enjoyed plenty of success since the Welsh regions were invited to take part in the Premiership 7s.

They qualified for the 2014 and 2015 finals days at the Stoop and will be targeting a place in the quarter-finals against English opposition at Coventry's Ricoh Arena on Sunday, August 7.

"It's always televised and a lot of people watch it," said O'Brien. "Winning last year was a great boost for us.

"All the other guys at the club were watching and cheering us on, we're very proud of winning some silverware. We have photos of it up at Rodney Parade and at our training base."

The Welsh leg starts at 7pm with the Dragons facing the Ospreys (7.25pm), Cardiff Blues (8.20pm) and Scarlets (8.50pm).