Samu Manoa arrived at Cardiff Blues this week and he is determined to hit greater heights than during his spell at Northampton Saints.
The USA international achieved cult hero status during his time at Franklin’s Gardens and established himself as one of the most devastatingly physical players in Europe.
At Saints he won both the Aviva Premiership and European Challenge Cup in 2014, when he also picked up Northampton's Player, Players' Player and Supporters' Player of the year award.
And he arrives in the Welsh capital from Toulon, aiming to have a similar impact having taken the word of good friend and international captain Blaine Scully.
Manoa said: “It feels good being back in an English (British) environment, I’m just looking forward to getting things cracking.
“It is something different for me, coming from the Top14 I just want to see what this league is about and my boy Blaino… he just said it’s good so I took his word on it.
“I’m trying to get back and hopefully be better than I was at Northampton. I like a physical game, smacking a couple of people and just playing the way I play since I’ve been playing.
“I want to bring that, help the squad out and hopefully we can win some silverware.”
Manoa will be at the Cardiff Blues v Leinster clash in the Guinness PRO14 on Friday, August 31, (7.35pm), will you? Tickets are available now by clicking here or calling 029 20 302030.