Josh Navidi feels back to his best and is ready to make up for lost time in a Cardiff jersey.
The flanker starts at the Arms Park as the Blue and Blacks take on Glasgow Warriors in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday (5.15pm).
It is the 31-year-old’s first home appearance this season following a frustrating few years of club rugby.
While Navidi starred in the 2019 World Cup, won a Six Nations title and toured South Africa with the British & Irish Lions, it has been a different tale on the domestic front, with appearances few and far between due to untimely injuries.
That is something which has been hugely frustrating for Navidi, who had previously been an ever-present for the club, and he is now determined to make the most of the remaining season.
He said: “It’s nice (to be back), I was obviously only away for two weeks so I haven’t missed too much and getting up to speed with things is second nature compared to being away for the whole camp. It’s nice to be back with the boys and I’m looking forward to Glasgow.
“I’m feeling good. In the last game I felt real well, I’m getting into my stride now and it’s good to get three games under my belt. We have a lot of games to play here so hopefully I can pick up a lot of rugby towards the end of the season.
“You have to go out on the field and give your best performance. That first game against Ulster.. four and a half months is a long time. Two months you can get away with it but that’s a long-time. I could feel it against Ulster.
“It’s different to a lot of running, it’s a lot more physical with all the contact, getting up off the floor and all that. It takes a lot of time to recover but by the second and third game I felt real good. I feel back to normal fitness wise so hopefully I stay fit and keep it moving .
“It’s probably age more than anything! All those games catching up with me. I was fortunate and I played a lot of rugby as a youngster coming through but the last couple of seasons I’ve gone into camp and come out injured.
“I haven’t picked up games here so it’s nice to get that blue jersey on and get back out there. My shoulder has gone twice this year, last year it was concussion so it’s not getting games for Cardiff.
“It’s nice to get back on the Arms Park and get a run of games. We still have another 10 games to go and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Cardiff take on a Glasgow team led by former head coach Danny Wilson, who sit third in the URC table following a scrappy Scotland derby victory over Edinburgh.
Three defeats on the road is not ideal preparation to take on one of the Championship’s form teams but Navidi, who is acutely aware of the magnitude of the fixture, insist Cardiff can only focus on themselves and is relishing a return to home comforts.
He added: “The boys are disappointed not to pick up any points out in South Africa and everyone knows Danny pretty well but we’re just concentrating on oursleves.
“It’s a short week with the travel so we’re thinking about ourselves, making sure we get our game plan right going into the game and it’s Saturday, five o’clock and there’s nothing better than being at the Arms Park. The boys are ready for it and looking forward to it.
“Glasgow are a good team. Obviously derbies are always going to be close and them picking up the win shows they can see games out when it’s close and things aren’t going well.
“They have good runners, good ball players and they like to play fast. We’re really looking forward to it, especially on our surface so hopefully it will be a nice exciting game.”
Tickets for Cardiff Rugby v Glasgow Warriors are available now by clicking here or calling 029 20 302030 during office opening hours.