Two more Wales back rowers reminded Gatland of their talents as Dragons pair Shane Lewis-Hughes and Taine Basham impressed in the 33-30 defeat by Sharks.
Lewis-Hughes has been a revelation since his summer move from Cardiff, fourth in the league for turnovers and muscled up against a physical South African pack.
Basham capped a man of the match display with a try in his first game of the season as he recovered from tendonitis issues.
“Taine was all-action, as we know he can be, and that’s just the start from him,” said Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan.
“Shane’s been excellent too. He had a massive impact at the start of that game and has transformed the maul defence with Sam Hobbs as coach.
“It gives confidence to our pack to believe if teams want to go five metres out last minute, we will stop them.”
Sadly they could not hold out in the 85th minute when Sharks denied Dragons a first win over one of South Africa’s big four.
