Nicky Smith

Player feature - Nicky Smith

After picking up a draw against the Scarlets last week, prop Nicky Smith gave us his views.

“We had a few mixed emotions after the match. After the first half we should’ve scored more points when we were planted on their line for such a long period of time. In the second half we let them come back into the game which was a big disappointment from our point of view. But in fairness to the boys, they showed real grit and determination which in previous seasons wouldn’t have happened.

“That’s where we’ve missed out in the past, picking up those bonus points which would’ve squeezed us into the play-offs. We’ve picked up two points away from home which we have to look at as a positive.

“For me personally, there’s good parts of my game and things I know I need to work on. Hopefully I can keep building and improving as the weeks go on. That’s the beauty of this competition, it’s week in, week out there’s not much time to reflect on performances so you’re always focused on the next task and the next challenge ahead.

“I feel I need to improve to be more consistent and get more game time under my belt. I’m not afraid to admit that I have good performances and then bad performances to it’s about keeping that consistency and working on that.

“I need to offer my point of difference. I pride myself on my set piece and my work rate out there on the park. It’s not overthinking on things, selection is opinion but if I can put my best version of myself out on the pitch week in week out then the rest will take care of itself.”