Max Llewellyn is determined to take this game to the next level, after an impressive individual performance in the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup defeat to Ospreys.
The centre, who penned his first professional deal with his home club last summer, provided a try and an assist at the Liberty Stadium, while also winning 97 meters with ball in hand.
The former Ysgol Gyfun Glantaf alumni wants to continue to work on developing a well-rounded skill-set and make the most of learning from the experienced team-mates and coaches around him.
“At the top level, size is such a huge thing. That’s something I’ll have to go to at times, and that’s something people will want to see from me,” explained the academy product.
“To have someone who can get you over the gain-line is massive in rugby, and I understand I’m going to have to do that.
“But I don’t want that to be my only purpose on the pitch.
“In training I’ll work on being a distributor as well, and you’ve seen sides like England who play two 10s.
“So if I can bring that distribution into my game, then it will open things up and take away the need of playing two 10s, if I can offer both distributing and carrying hard.
“It’s been a tough year because if you’re not playing in the first team then there’s no rugby at all.
“That’s been challenging, but we have got a good training group here with boys constantly pushing each other in training to get better.
“It’s a strong centre department here, but it’s a good place to be a part of. The experience that I can learn from is great.
“The experience that Willis and Rey have under their belts means I can constantly learn and pick stuff up every day.
“They’re top blokes and they constantly try to help you out. Ahead of this game, with running moves during the week they were looking to give me pointers on how to improve and get better, and that really helps out when it does come to game day.
“I want to get as much minutes as I can before the season ends, because I haven’t had too many this year.
“I want to get as much in as I can so I can build on it for next season.
“Dai spoke to me before the game and told me a clear message - ‘be decisive.’
“It’s something that’s fed back to me by the coaches as one of my weaknesses, like if I break through I’ll look around for the support too much, whereas if I get the opportunity I need to get my head down and try to go for the try.”
Llewellyn came through the ranks alongside Ben Thomas, with both players featuring in the Cardiff backline in Swansea.
Playmaker Thomas’ short pass sent the centre through for his first competitive try in Cardiff Blues colours on Saturday, and the former Wales under-20 international thrives from playing alongside his former Cardiff Schools and age grade team-mate.
“I’ve got a great relationship with Ben, and he’s someone that I grew up with and always played with, whether it was for Cardiff Schools, Cardiff under-16 and Cardiff RFC,” added Llewellyn.
“I enjoy playing with him because I know what his game is, and he knows what mine is.
“We complement each other well and I enjoy playing with him.
“I enjoyed the game. It’s nice to get a good personal performance out of it but the bigger picture will always be around winning and thriving to be better as a team.
“So it was a bit disappointing with regards to the scoreline but from a personal point of view you want to be happy with your own performance as well.
“It was a bit frustrating in the first half, because we were getting into good areas on the pitch but were giving the ball away with penalties and set pieces.
"It was difficult to get into the game, but in the second half it became a bit more open and I managed to get into it a bit better and I thought we played pretty well in the second half.”