Teddy Williams is determined to stride forwards with Cardiff following a bittersweet summer on the international stage.
The athletic second-row was included in Warren Gatland’s wider training squad ahead of the World Cup and made his Wales debut in the summer.
That came in a heavy defeat to South Africa, with Williams sin-binned, and ultimately he missed out on selection for the global showpiece.
But with a taste of international action, experience of what it takes and knowledge gained, Williams is all the more determined and that begins in Blue and Black.
He said: "It was just relentless. That is probably the way I would describe it. The camps were tough but I really enjoyed it.
"It's just seeing what it takes. Everyone’s got that same goal of making it into the final squad, so seeing what it takes to get there, how diligent you have to be, how relentless training is.
“If you’re missing sessions it’s obviously going to have a big knock-on effect, so the preparation you do to minimise the risks of injuries and stuff, that was probably the main thing.”
“(i didn’t enjoy my debut) as much as I would have liked. Obviously with how the game went. getting sin binned myself, it wasn’t ideal.
"It was obviously a proud day for for me and my family, but in terms of looking back at the actual match, there is probably quite a lot of disappointment and frustration with how it went, and obviously I didn't probably do enough to get picked in the final squad.”
"I knew after the game I probably hadn't done enough. Obviously I got contacted by the coaches before the announcement, they gave me a couple of things to work on and just stressed the importance on going back and trying to be a key part of Cardiff’s season now.
"That's the big thing, having spoken to the other boys who didn't make it, that taste we have for more, how hungry we are to get back.
“Obviously I was there with the goal of making it to the World Cup, so there was disappointment at the end - but generally when I look back, I really enjoyed the whole process.”
Williams returned to action with an appearance off the bench in last weekend’s 21-12 pre-season victory over the Scarlets.
Cardiff continue their preparations for the BKT United Rugby Championship against the Ospreys tonight with Williams starting.
At the tender age of 22-years-old, Williams is already becoming a leader within the Cardiff ranks and the increased exposure of young players is undoubtedly going to be a theme of the season.
And Williams, the son of Cardiff cult hero, the late Owain Williams, believes that will reap long term benefits.
He continued: “Now I'm back [at Cardiff], the focus is on here, really. That starts with training well here, trying to get as many starts here as I can and then, when picked, performing as well as I can.”
"It's a good chance for a lot of the young boys to step up, whether that's academy boys coming in for the first time who might have been down in the academy a bit longer, or boys who may be stepping up into more leadership roles a bit earlier than they ordinarily would have," he added. "I think you can see that a of lot boys are stepping up to either role earlier than maybe they would ordinarily, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.
"There's a lot of people who have their responsibilities. Obviously, for me, along with the other lineout callers here, I'll be driving a lot of that sort of stuff, I know a lot of the front row boys out there look after the scrum. The backs with the attacking game in the kicking game, they have big influence. So it is across the board, really, there's a lot of players who have a lot of input into how how we play.
"With people departing, it's just newer voices. A lot of those senior guys last year, they would have driven a lot of that and as they’ve moved on now, it’s good to see other people stepping up.”
Cardiff kick-off their United Rugby Championship season against Benetton Rugby on Saturday, October 21 (17:15), with match tickets and Season Memberships available now.