The unheralded Welsh rugby stalwart who beat New Zealand aged just 17 and is finally being touted for Wales call-up

It seems fair to say there are some casual rugby observers who might struggle to pick out Jack Dixon at an identity parade.

He doesn’t appear the type to court publicity and his Twitter bio tells us that as well as being a professional rugby player for the Dragons, he is also a ‘proud vice-captain of the railway seconds darts team’.

It isn’t known how quickly he can get down from 501, but every rugby team should have a Jack Dixon, a players’ player who goes the extra mile for the team and is prepared to tackle unglamorous jobs with relish. Rare is the Dragons match that passes without Dixon putting himself in harm’s way and targeting turnovers despite the best efforts of gargantuan opposition forwards to blast him off the ball.

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Such work isn’t always picked up, let alone celebrated. But, then, Dixon doesn’t do it for the headlines. He does it for the team.

In a recent interview with his local newspaper, the South Wales Argus, he said of one such episode in the Dragons’ 2015 Challenge Cup win over Cardiff, which saw him pilfer possession with the clock in the red and the Rodney Paraders grimly defending a 25-21 lead: “Those moments don’t get seen but I’m happy to do them.

“Every weekend I just try my best for the team. I am not the one that scores the tries, I am the one that takes all the beatings in midfield to let the boys outside me score the tries.”

Quietly, however, he has been playing so well of late that it’s been impossible to ignore him, with his director of rugby at the Dragons, Dean Ryan, touting him as a potential Wales call-up.

“Jack's performances have warranted notice from outside the region,” said Ryan. “He has