Lewis-Hughes expects Scottish forward battle

The back row forward was one of the star performers in the 54-20 victory over Samoa last week, scoring two tries and singled out for praise by head coach Jason Strange.
 
Strange’s young side face Scotland in the middle-tier play-offs on Tuesday (3pm BST), a team they have triumphed over twice in 2017.
 
But Lewis-Hughes insists they can take nothing for granted against the Scots and he expects a fierce forward battle at Avchala Stadium.
 
He said: “We’re treating every game as a final now and we have to put on a big performance because they have some real strengths, especially around their set-piece.
 
“We’ve played them and beat them in the Six Nations, and the recent warm-up game for this competition, so we are lucky to have some experience and knowledge of what they will bring.
 
“They have a good lineout, a decent scrum and heavy forwards with a powerful pack but we’ve also seen a decent back-line and they’ve improved as the tournament’s gone on. But we can’t worry about that, it’s about focussing on ourselves.”
 
Lewis-Hughes will also be able to take solace from the performances of the pack so far in Georgia.
 
Against both England and Samoa, Wales were dominant at the set-piece, with their attacking scrum causing particular problems for the opposition.
 
“If we can take that away from them and stick to our game-plan then hopefully we’ll be alright and get the victory.
 
“The forward platform we have enjoyed so far has been very pleasing, especially at set-piece with the likes of Keiron Assiratti and Rhys Carre dominating, that’s pleasing for us and something we take confidence from.”
 
On a personal level, Lewis-Hughes has been involved in all three encounters in the tournament and he has impressed on every occasion.
 
Opportunities at Cardiff Blues have been limited so far for the 19-year-old but he is aiming to press his claims in the 2017-18 season.
 
He added: “It’s a massive tournament to be in in and both as an individual and a team you want to do the best you possibly can. I’ve just tried to perform in every game and hopefully that will give me a good platform going into next year with Cardiff Blues.”