The 28-year-old impressed for the West Country outfit in his first season at The Rec last term but faces massive competition for a place in the Wales side.
Second row remains one of the nation’s richest positions, with the likes of Ospreys duo Alun Wyn Jones and Ian Evans having just returned from the British & Irish Lions tour, while Andrew Coombs, Bradley Davies, Luke Charteris, Lou Reed and the now retired Olly Kohn all wore the red jersey ahead of Day last season.
Day faces a tough task just to claim a regular starting spot in the Bath boilerhouse, with club captain Stuart Hooper, England EPS member Dave Attwood and Ireland international Ryan Caldwell all in the mix, but he remains hopeful that a successful season could yet see him catapulted up the Welsh rankings.
“That’s what I want: I want to play for Wales,” said Day, who made more than a century of appearances for the Scarlets between 2006 and 2012.
“There are guys like Paul James here in Bath who plays for Wales, Gav (Henson) has played for Wales and so has Martin Roberts, but I don’t really have much contact with the Welsh camp so it’s hard to tell exactly what they want.
“I’m probably 15th choice at the moment! Gary Gold (director of rugby at Bath) coached South Africa and Mike Ford (Bath head coach) has been with England and they fill me with confidence all the time. Personally, I think I’m playing good rugby. Whether the Wales camp see that or not, I don’t know. If Wales come calling I’ll be there and ready.”
Day came off the bench in Bath’s opening Aviva Premiership win at Newcastle last week after Ford opted to start with Hooper and Attwood in the North East.
But the former Wales U19 and U21 international is glad he will have to earn the right to start for his club as he remains convinced that competition for places is the best way for him to push on towards that ultimate goal of a senior Wales cap.
“There’s probably a bit more competition in the second row this year and that’s ideal for me. That should keep pushing me as a player,” added Day.
“That’s what you need as a player. You don’t want to go somewhere where it’s going to be an easy ride – you want to push yourself week in, week out. That’s the atmosphere they’re creating here and that’s ideal.
“I definitely think I’ve improved. Things probably went a bit stale for me at the Scarlets towards the end of my time there. It was the ideal time to move, it was perfect for me.
“It’s my second year now and I’ve bought a house with (Bath and England hooker) Rob Webber so I feel a lot more settled now. I’m happy with how the first year went and I want to back it up this year – I want to step up.”
