The giant tight-head prop, who lead his university to triumph at the Millennium Stadium, has signed a development contract with Cardiff Blues and jetted to South Africa with Phil Davies’ squad.
The former geography student has taken a full part in the Blues’ pre-season preparations and admits life in professional rugby was a shock to the system.
“It was a great honour to captain Cardiff to the Varisty title and now I have a good opportunity with the Blues,” said the 22-year-old.
“It’s definitely been a bit of an eye opener in terms of what it takes. There’s no comparison in training, it’s gone up to a whole different level. But I’m really looking forward to this year and finding out if I can make a career in rugby.”
The Dorking-product, who was involved with Harlequins as a schoolboy and spent last season with Bedwas, is likely to play most of his rugby with Cardiff RFC in the Principality Premiership. But he hopes to secure game-time for the Blues in the RaboDirect PRO12 and particularly the LV=Cup.
“I’ll mostly be with the club side and hopefully I’ll get a couple of games for the Blues to be able to prove myself,” added the proud Englishman.
“I’ve played in the Premiership with Bedwas for the last few years. That was a massive learning curve, I hadn’t played any senior rugby until I went up there and I’ve come a long way in those few years. Hopefully I can continue that development.
“There are a lot of boys who are very talented and very dedicated in the Blues squad. You have to put the work in, get your head down and hopefully that will rub off on me.”
