Cory Hill is fully focused on making his mark at Cardiff Blues, as the lock prepares for his first full season back at the Welsh capital.
The 25-times capped international made the switch back to his home region after a seven-year stint with Dragons, and appeared in August’s Guinness PRO14 encounter against Scarlets.
With the 2020/21 Guinness PRO14 kicking off with a trip to Zebre on Friday, Hill is excited to get the action underway after overcoming a series of injuries last season.
“My main target for the season is to get the number four or five jersey here at Cardiff Blues. It’s nice to be back but you can’t rest on your laurels,” said the academy product.
“It’s about hard work, keeping my feet on the floor and hopefully I can get that starting jersey.
“As it’s always been, club comes first. If you get a good run of games with your club and put some good performances in, then it will open up the Wales door.
“But for me, it’s about looking after my own house and try to get that Blues jersey.
“I want to put in good performances and try to add a little bit to this squad.
“I’m very excited to have joined Cardiff Blues. This is where I started off so it was nice to be back.
“It’s just nice to get the season started. At one stage we didn’t know whether it was going to go ahead or not but we’re excited to get going, kicking on and having a big start.
“It’s been pretty frustrating. I had a couple of injuries which is part and parcel of rugby football union so I just have to get on with it.
“But I’m back fully fit now so hopefully I can have a good run of games and have a good season.
“I’m busting to get out there. It’s been stop-start for me over the last 18 months. I had a run of games towards Christmas, played one game in the Six Nations and picked up a little hamstring injury again.
“It was definitely frustrating. I got back fit for the Scotland game but into lockdown we went.
“You always have time to reflect when you’re off the park, whether that’s through injury or a global pandemic.
“You try to better yourself day-in, day-out, and it’s certainly been a good time for me to get my body ready, put my best foot forward and get fully fit again.
“I’ve certainly done that and now I’m excited to get started.”
The lock is excited to join a squad containing a blend of youth and experience at the Arms Park, and is fired up ahead of the challenge in Parma.
“I’m excited, the same as everyone else. It’s been a long wait," added the Welsh international.
“We had the two games at the end of last season, which was a bit weird. We’d had a big break, and then for me, playing for the Dragons and then coming into the Blues and finishing the season here was strange.
“But it was very enjoyable and I was lucky to come in and have time to settle for a couple of months.
“Unfortunately I only played the one game and we had a bit of a squad rotation. It was a bit frustrating because you were in and out and back off for a couple of weeks and then back into pre-season.
“But now I’m very excited, as is everyone else, and I’m just ready to get going.
“We’ll be taking each game by itself. We’ve set our own internal goals and we’ll probably keep those to ourselves.
“As a squad, we’ve set our own goals and we’re very excited.
“There’s a good balance within the squad. We’ve got some youngsters and also a nice blend of experience in there as well.
“But everyone will be fighting for that jersey come Friday night.
"It’s always tough when you go out to Italy. The Italian teams have proved that year-on-year, since they’ve come into the competition, and they’ve certainly got two strong teams out there.
"We’re looking for a tough challenge, especially up front as we know that they have a big, heavy forwards pack.
"They’ll certainly bring it in that area and we’ll have to match them up front."