Jonah Holmes: Overlooked Wales wing urged to 'keep scoring' for Dragons

Dean Ryan hopes Jonah Holmes (L) and Sam Davies can persuade Wales' selectors they can thrive at Test level

Dragons boss Dean Ryan has urged out-of-favour Wales wing Jonah Holmes to maintain his form to impress the national selectors.

Cardiff's Owen Lane was picked ahead of Holmes in Wales' autumn international squad.

"Our message to Jonah is to keep doing what he is doing here to knock on the door," said Ryan.

The Dragons boss also hopes fly-half Sam Davies can rekindle his Wales career after again being overlooked.

Ospreys' Gareth Anscombe and Cardiff veteran Rhys Priestland joined Northampton's Dan Biggar and Callum Sheedy of Bristol in the Wales squad.

Davies, 28, who won the last of his eight Wales caps on tour against Samoa in 2017, has impressed Ryan this season.

"Sam quite rightly doesn't know where he fits," said the Dragons boss.

"It's somebody's selection. Communicating and understanding where people on the outside of that sit, or what they need to do, isn't necessarily for me to do because I'd have a different opinion.

"Sam has started the season very well and with a selection as a here and now, it's important that people like Sam understand what it looks like going forward.

"What does he need to do, because playing for Wales is so big for these lads and something to be striving towards.

"Every single one of them would have a huge motivation to play for Wales so when selections, quite rightly, are about next week, we've also got to work a way of telling people what it looks like in a year."

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Ryan is similarly concerned about Holmes' place in the international pecking order.

"I don't think Jonah has a huge amount of understanding of why [he has been left out]," said Ryan.

The Dragons boss says Holmes has begun this campaign in the form that earned him Wales honours in the summer.

"He is pretty motivated to continue that form here," said Ryan.

"That's the only thing he can do, when answering international selection you can just make sure your domestic form is at its height.

"At the end of the day it's a person's opinion for a squad and you have to support that. Our message to Jonah is to keep doing what he is doing here to knock on the door until somebody takes notice.

"We are really comfortable with Jonah's form and he is a huge part of what we are doing. Keep scoring, that's his job.

"The message is quite simple - keep the things he is doing well and let's, like everybody else, keep challenging the things we don't think are a strength."