Corey Domachowski is driven by the fierce competition for places at Cardiff Blues, as he looks to continue to impress on the pitch.
The loosehead prop department at Cardiff Arms Park contains home-grown talents in Rhys Gill, Brad Thyer and Rhys Carré, but it’s Domachowski who has been given the nod to start against Scarlets on Friday evening, making his ninth start of the campaign.
The 24 year old has gradually been introduced into the first team since making his debut against Glasgow in 2016, and has enjoyed a breakthrough 18 months, which included making his 50th appearance for his home region earlier this season.
After his first daughter was born last year, the prop admits it’s given him new motivation as he strives to continually improve and develop.
“The main focus for me this year was trying to stay injury free, get a run of games and a bit of consistency,” said Domachowski.
“I’ve been lucky enough to get the backing of the coaching staff and I feel like my performances are getting better and better each game.
“With Rhys Carré coming back, it’s good for all of us. Healthy competition is always good.
“This season I’ve been playing a bit more and he’s been away with Wales but it’s one of those things.
“Myself, Brad Thyer, Rhys Gill and Carré are all capable of putting performances in. So whoever has the jersey needs to do it justice and it’s yours to keep then and the competition will keep going.
“Becoming a father is the best thing in the world, but it can also be the hardest as well. It’s matured me a lot and before I had the baby, I was probably still in the academy mindset where I was happy to be where I was.
“I was still in contract and didn’t go in under pressure, but I had a long, hard look at myself and realised that if I wanted to kick on in my career then changes needed to be made.
“I started working harder, maintaining my qualities and work on my weaknesses. I want to continue to do that and try to be the best version of myself every game that I play.
“A big part of it is getting the experience and working on the physical attributes in the gym.
“Technique is massive and is one of the biggest factors in the scrum. So you need to make sure you’re getting your process perfect every time. You learn along the road and I’ve had a couple of times where I’ve been under the pump with back to the wall.
“But you learn from them as you go on in your career. I’m still young and only 24 years old, and I’d like to think there’s long years ahead of me.
“You’re learning every session and especially here at the Blues we’ve got good tightheads. We’ve got good young boys and boys who have been there and done it all.
“You get the balance between experience and youngsters wanting to earn their shot. There’s always competition in the front row.
“The gym is a massive part of it and, like I said, the physical department is vital for the front row.
“They say that you develop later as a prop compared maybe to your half backs and back rowers, but I’m eager.
“The years going from age grade to under-20 rugby to now, it feels like a bit of a time lapse in between but now I want to prove myself and prove my qualities every time I get my opportunity.
“It’s massive for me with Dai [Young] being the person that he is and the things he’s done in the game.
“It will be a massive help for someone in my position especially.
“It’s been good and boys have been on their toes. With a new man in you want to show what you’re capable of and start off with a good impression.
“Training has been good this week and the boys are keen to impress.”
Domachowski once again impressed against Scarlets last time out as his side secured a 29-20 victory following tries from Rey Lee-Lo, Willis Halaholo and Tomos Williams.
The challenge now is to back that performance up and show consistency, according to Domachowski, and he is fully prepared for a Scarlets side who will be desperate for revenge: “It was a massive win down at Cardiff City Stadium against Scarlets. They’ve got good strength in depth and had a firing team out, but so did we.
“It was a good game and I’m sure this weekend they’ll want a revenge.
“They’ll want to put the wrongs right but we need to bring our game like we did last time and improve on that.
“We showed what we’re capable of, and we haven’t seen that in a while, so we need to build on that now and be the best versions of ourselves.
“One of the biggest values in rugby is consistency. It’s no good to be playing well one week and waiting three or four games until you play like that again.
“That’s going to be one of the main focuses for us. We know what we’re capable of and you can see on paper the type of team we’ve got, but it’s about putting those performances together and being consistent with it.”