AFTER ticking off his pre-season long-term goal of a Wales cap in quick time, Dragons hooker Elliot Dee is hungry for more Test action this autumn.

The 23-year-old from Newbridge made his international bow off the bench in Saturday’s 13-6 win against Georgia at Principality Stadium.

The front rower earned his chance thanks to a superb, energetic start to the campaign at Rodney Parade and he took that form onto the Test stage, making 10 tackles in 12 minutes on the field.

Lions ace Ken Owens and Saturday’s starter Kristian Dacey are in pole position to feature in the remaining autumn clashes with New Zealand and South Africa but Dee intends to give everything in a bid to earn cap number two.

“Since being named in the squad I’ve had a bit of a monkey on my back and really wanted to get off the mark with a cap and achieve my ultimate goal,” said Dee, the 1,143rd player to represent his country.

“I sat down at the start of the season and set some short, medium and long-term goals. One of the long-term goals was to get capped for Wales.

“I’ve done that now and it’s a massive achievement but I’ve always found that when you hit a goal you always then set one higher. I just want to get as much game time as I can.

“The last couple of seasons I’ve had a bit of an unlucky run with injury but it’s nice to not have the potential international tag but to have done it. I feel I can relax and move forward now.

“I just want to take as much as I can out of this autumn. I am just going to keep on training hard and push the others to try and get out on the field as much as I can.”

Free Press Series:

After seeing Dragons teammate Leon Brown win his first cap against the Wallabies, Dee was champing at the bit to make an impression against Georgia.

“Warren Gatland had a word with me on Saturday morning to calm me down and bit and give me a bit of reassurance, saying to just go out and do what I’ve done for the Dragons by bringing energy and work rate,” he said.

“It was nice to have a few words for him before setting off and that gave me a load of confidence.

“The bus ride in almost brought a tear to my eye and singing the anthem was one of the proudest moments of my life. It was an amazing day for me.

“It was brilliant to get it at Principality Stadium, I don’t think there is a better arena to get a first international cap.

“I wasn’t involved against Australia and watching the other boys get their caps I was wondering if I’d get my chance, it was brilliant when I heard my name to go on.”

Free Press Series:

Dee will spend the next fortnight grafting hard to try and earn a shot at the All Blacks and Springboks and then he will return to the Dragons keen to build on his excellent start to the campaign.

“I’ve been given a bit of a senior role with the Dragons this year and feel that the confidence [head coach] Bernard Jackman has put in me has made me up my game,” said the hooker.

“Being involved in this is another level up and now I want to go back, keep playing well and hopefully this experience will rub off on some of the younger boys as well.”