DRAGONS speedsters Rio Dyer and Joe Goodchild will feature in the first tournament of Darren Edwards' reign as Wales Sevens boss, writes Chris Kirwan.

The duo have been named for the Dubai opener of the World Rugby Sevens Series and the second leg in Cape Town.

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Dyer, 19, has made 16 appearances and scored three tries on the circuit while fellow wing Goodchild, 21, has crossed 13 times in 42 outings.

They are joined by George Gasson, who is now a core member of the squad after his release by the Rodney Parade region, and Ben Roach, who played for the Dragons XV in the Celtic Cup this summer.

Former Dragons boss Edwards has taken over from Richie Pugh as head coach and is charged with improving the national side's fortunes after they narrowly avoided relegation when finishing 14th last season.

The draw for Dubai pits Wales against New Zealand on Thursday and Samoa and Canada on Friday.

There are debuts for Cardiff Blues fly-half Rhys Davies and Pontypridd back rower Morgan Sieniawski.

Edwards will oversee one of the youngest squads on the World Series, with an average age of 22. Nine members of the squad have been through the Wales U18, U19 or U20 programmes in the past two seasons.

Wales Sevens squad (Dubai/Cape Town): core players – Cai Devine, George Gasson, Jay Jones, Cameron Lewis, Ben Roach, Dafydd Smith, Luke Treharne (captain); Cardiff Blues – Rhys Davies; Dragons – Rio Dyer, Joe Goodchild; Ospreys – Ben Cambriani; Scarlets – Tomi Lewis