WALES international Tyler Morgan says he has been "dying" to play expansive rugby at Newport Gwent Dragons and hopes to reap the rewards of the new approach against Zebre on Friday.

The 20-year-old from Caerleon came off the bench in the 36th minute of the Guinness Pro12 opener against Ulster but was limited to a defensive workout, touching the ball just twice in the 29-8 defeat.

Morgan, who did not feature in pre-season after touring New Zealand with Wales in June, is likely to be a leading figure when the Dragons bid to end an 11-game league losing streak against Zebre in Newport on Friday (kick-off 7.15pm)

And he will hope to profit from the Rodney Parade side's pledge to chance their arm more this season after being ranked last in the 2015/16 try chart.

That didn't quite materialise at Kingspan Stadium; the Dragons made a bright start to lead 8-0 after the first quarter but were then starved of possession by the title hopefuls.

Morgan said: "It was good to get back out on the field for some game time but it was just a defensive session for me in the second half, it's frustrating when you don't get ball in hand.

"We can be positive about the way that we started against Ulster and it was the same in pre-season against Exeter and Cardiff Blues.

"We are trying to develop a positive brand of rugby and I think we showed that, moving the ball and challenging teams rather than just kicking it away all the time.

"That's the type of rugby that I am dying to play, getting the ball in my hands in space, and when we do get it going properly it is a style that will suit our outside backs.

"We will be really hard on ourselves this week and then against Zebre hopefully we will push on from just having a good start to execute for the whole 80 minutes."

Morgan will be looking to string together a run of games for the Dragons after a burgeoning career that has been hindered by injuries.

He played just six club games last season after suffering a shoulder injury in Wales' World Cup quarter-final defeat to South Africa and then enduring hamstring problems.

"I need to get out there and play more rugby because last season was a tough one," he admitted.

"Some of the boys had another week off after New Zealand but I spoke to (Wales coach) Rob Howley before the start of the season and told him that I needed to be out there.

"It was a good experience out in New Zealand even though we didn't get the results that we wanted, especially the Chiefs game.

"I enjoyed being in that environment again and it was a full tour for me injury-free and training with quality players. I want to push on now and have to be playing."

To that end there is more competition at Rodney Parade this season with the arrival of Welsh-qualified Sam Beard, who got the nod against Ulster only to suffer a blow to the head.

"I remember him from the European Rugby Challenge Cup semi-final against Edinburgh when he was class and tore us to pieces," said Morgan.

"He is not that big but is surprisingly powerful and is a good player who has added something different and brought more competition for starts, which can only be a good thing."

The Dragons fielded Adam Warren, who played every game of 2015/16 in midfield, on the wing against Ulster but should have more options out wide soon.

Tom Prydie and Ashton Hewitt are nearing returns from knee and shoulder injuries respectively while Wales wing/full-back Hallam Amos could make his first appearance of the campaign against Zebre.