AFTER learning from Test stars Gavin Henson, Jamie Roberts and Nick Tompkins, the wait has been worth it for patient Aneurin Owen this season.

The Dragons kick off their Rainbow Cup campaign tomorrow against the Scarlets (kick-off 1pm) when the 20-year-old from Newport will line up opposite Wales and Lions international Jonathan Davies.

It's another big test for Owen, another learning experience and another chance to show glimpses of the talent that has long had regional chiefs talking enthusiastically.

Another newspaper this week headlined an article 'Meet Aneurin Owen, the exciting Wales youngster who ousted Nick Tompkins' but the truth is that many met him a long time ago thanks to his exploits with Ebbw Vale in the Premiership and Wales Under-20s.

That highlights why it was a frustrating wait for the youngster, yet it has proved to be a shrewd move by the Dragons, who resisted the temptation to fling in a talented young player.

PROSPECT: Aneurin Owen has been a huge hit since bursting into the Dragons side

PROSPECT: Aneurin Owen has been a huge hit since bursting into the Dragons side

Last season Owen was on a conditioning plan to prepare him for the physical demand of midfield in senior rugby and for the first half of 2020/21 he was learning in Ystrad Mynach.

That came after a planned Dragons debut in August was scuppered by then teenager coming into close contact with Jamie Roberts, who had tested positive for coronavirus.

Instead Owen had to wait until the Champions Cup trip to Bordeaux-Begles for a first taste, coming off the bench in the first half to become the 300th player to represent the region.

More appearances as a replacement came against the Scarlets and Connacht before a first start against PRO14 champions Leinster.

He has been a firm fixture in the side ever since - tomorrow will be his eighth start on the spin.

It's a situation that Owen feared wouldn't happen when he heard in the summer that Roberts was signing to follow Wales international Nick Tompkins through the door.

PROSPECT: Aneurin Owen has learnt from former Wales and Lions centre Jamie Roberts at the Dragons

PROSPECT: Aneurin Owen has learnt from former Wales and Lions centre Jamie Roberts at the Dragons

"At the start of the season, when they announced Jamie and Nick, it was a bit of a weird one for me," he said.

"When they signed Jamie and Nick, I was like 'oh, I might not get my opportunity for a while now', but since them coming here it's taken my game to another level.

"You would think them coming would be a bit frustrating for me but if anything it's pushed me on further and made me work a lot harder.

"I've had to wait quite a long time to get my opportunity but when it came, I felt ready just from the year that's happened, training and learning off them.

"My focus was on getting better. I thought that'd be through getting a couple of starts for the Dragons but I found real improvements by just learning off them and being around them in training."

Owen spoke in 2019 about learning from watching Henson at the Dragons – a man with playmaking skills that he aspires to – and now he is pestering Roberts.

The former Wales and Lions star has frequently hailed the ability and inquisitive nature of the youngster, who will profit from at least another season alongside the 34-year-old.

PROSPECT: Aneurin Owen has been a huge hit since bursting into the Dragons side

PROSPECT: Aneurin Owen has been a huge hit since bursting into the Dragons side

"You get a British and Irish Lion and Welsh international who's in the exact same position as you, why not use him? I think I'd see it as a wasted opportunity if I wasn't asking everything," said the former Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw pupil.

"Jamie's not the set way of how things are done, you're just getting his experiences on things, what worked for him, what didn't work for him, what he finds are the fundamentals to get in your game. It's just talking, learning and sharing experience he's had.

"It's been class - same for Nick, really. He was unbelievable with me as well. Getting the knowledge from both of them has been class."

Tompkins has returned to Saracens for their Championship promotion challenge with the Dragons keen to use the Rainbow Cup to get more minutes into Owen, who is partnered by wing Jared Rosser in an experimental midfield against the Scarlets.

Yet the youngster was selected ahead of the Wales centre for the European Challenge Cup quarter-final against Northampton, not that the humble prospect sees it that way.

"I don't think I got the nod ahead of him, it was more just I was a bit lucky in the fact he was with Wales and then re-integrating back into the squad," he said.

"Nick's been fantastic with me and I've probably learnt loads off him. I've got so much to thank him for.

"I didn't see it as starting ahead of him, really. It wasn't like 'I'm better than you now' or anything like that. I was just happy to be starting and carry on playing."

It might not be too long until Owen is a rival for Tompkins in the red jersey.