By Paul Jones
Wales back row international Ollie Griffiths has received a double boost – signing a contract extension at the Dragons and returning to training after ankle surgery.
The 25-year-old, who won his only cap to date as a replacement in the summer tour victory over Tonga in Auckland in 2017, has been dogged by injuries in recent seasons, but is now targeting a return to action next month.
His latest problem came in the Champions Cup defeat to Wasps, when he damaged his ankle. Successful surgery was followed by rehab and now he is back running at the region’s Ystrad Mynach training base.
This week’s home clash with Connacht, along with the other Guinness PRO14 games against Edinburgh, Leinster and Zebre, look beyond him, but he hopes to be in the mix for the Welsh derby with the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium at the start of next month.
“Everything is going well and I’m ahead of schedule in terms of my recovery. I’m probably about three or four weeks off, so I’m hoping to be back at the beginning of March,” said Griffiths.
Wayne Pivac quickly identified his talent and potential by picking him for the uncapped match against the Barbarians in 2019.
His form for the Dragons, for who he has made 78 appearances since 2014, has remained at a high level and he hopes to return to push for more honours.
Having signed a contract extension that will keep him at Rodney Parade until 2023, he knows he faces a battle to get into the regional side before contemplating further international honours with fellow internationals Ross Moriarty and Aaron Wainwright fighting with Taine Basham, Lennon Greggains, Ben Fry, Huw Taylor and Harri Keddie for three places.
“It really was a no-brainer for me to stay at the Dragons for another couple of years. I feel we’ve kicked on a lot over the last year or so,” added Griffiths.
“Dean Ryan came in and said it as it was, he didn’t sell any false fantasies. He was realistic, which I liked.
“Since he’s been here we have kicked on a lot and we played Champions Cup rugby this year. That is where the region wants to be and, hopefully, we can qualify again.
“I’m still only 25, so I’ve still got international ambitions. At regional level I want to play Champions Cup rugby and I believe this is a place that I can do that.”
Victory over Connacht this week will help boost the Dragons’ Champions Cup hopes. They currently sit in fifth place in Conference A of the PRO14 with 14 points from nine games.
Director of rugby, Ryan, will be looking for an upturn in fortunes and is delighted to have secured the long-term future of Griffiths at Rodney Parade.
“I didn’t realise how good he was until we saw the impact he was capable of having on recent games,” said Ryan.
“You can’t hide from a stop-start injury record, you’ve got to come back and get games under your belt before you can start talking about international honours again.
“But, without doubt, everyone will be watching the next time he is back playing, hoping that this is the time he strings some games together.”