Dillon Lewis insists his international ambitions start in the Cardiff Blues jersey, as he prepares for Friday’s European Challenge Cup round of 16 clash with London Irish.
The 25-year-old prop was released from the Wales squad during their triumphant Guinness Six Nations campaign with a neck injury, and was estimated to potentially face three months on the sidelines.
However, the 28-times capped Welsh international returned within weeks, making a replacement appearance against Benetton Rugby in the penultimate round of Guinness PRO14 action.
Happy to be back in action earlier than anticipated, Lewis now has his sight set on returning into Wayne Pivac’s plans and insists he is fully focused on proving a point, taking feedback on board and fighting for the number three jersey for both club and country.
“The injury was meant to be a lot longer than it turned out to be and I’ve made a miraculous recovery, so it’s all good,” said the Welsh international.
“So that was obviously a big relief. I left the Wales camp thinking it was the end of my season
“It was frustrating for me because you never want to go into camp as the third choice in your position. But that’s sports, there’s a lot of ups and downs.
“There’s a lot for me to learn from it, and some tough conversations, but a lot to take away as well. I’m just glad to be back fit and playing.
“I know what my work-ons are and every game is an opportunity to improve and put my foot in the door again. That will be no different this weekend.
“Here at the Blues, there’s a lot of competition at tight-head and a lot of good tight-heads.
“So for me it’s about establishing myself as first choice here and that’s my goal now. It’s coming up to the end of the season now but my goal is to be an out-and-out starter here.
“That will be the same for the others and I’ll be no different in aiming to start week-in, week-out.
“I’ve had a fair bit of experience and exposure in international rugby and I’d love to get back there and be a regular in the matchday squad again.
“That’s what I’m striving for, but it all starts here at Cardiff Blues.”
Lewis was part of the Cardiff Blues squad that lifted the 2018 Challenge Cup in Bilbao, featuring in pool stage and knockout encounters.
Now under the tutelage of former Cardiff, Wales and British & Irish Lions prop, Dai Young, the 25 year old is excited for the challenge ahead against London Irish, and believes he is benefiting from working with the interim director of rugby.
The prop added: “It’s Europe, which is always exciting. You get the opportunity to play against teams you wouldn’t usually play against and we’ve got a massive history in this tournament.
“That’s well-spoken about, but we’re heading into this weekend on the back of two bonus point wins so we can travel there with a bit of confidence.
“We’ve watched a fair bit of London Irish, and spoken about them this week, and we know their threats. They play very exciting rugby and are a good team.
“So that will be another challenge for us as a group but something we can look forward to.
“I’ve also had a lot of good conversations with Dai, and he’s helped me a lot. He’s very knowledgable and has been around the game for a very long time.
“He’s achieved a huge amount, so he’s a good guy to get advice from.
“He’s been very beneficial for me. We had conversations around different aspects of the game like scrummaging.
“He’s been around the game for a long time now and brings a lot of experience with him, which is good for us, and it’s been very positive up to now.”