Richie Rees is relishing the challenge of keeping hold of the Wales No.9 shirt from illustrious duo Mike Phillips and Dwayne Peel.
Scrum-half ready to keep Phillips and Peel on the sidelines
Richie Rees is relishing the challenge of keeping hold of the Wales No.9 shirt from illustrious duo Mike Phillips and Dwayne Peel.
Cardiff Blues No.9 Rees has got the nod to start the RBS Six Nations clash against France on Friday despite the fact Phillips and Peel - who both have British and Irish Lions caps to their names - are fit again.
And despite the 26-year-old being initially apprehensive about making the starting XV after seeing the duo recalled to the Welsh set-up, Rees is determined to make the most of his chance.
"I didn't know either of them were coming," said Rees, who started the two previous Six Nations games on the bench behind Blues colleague Gareth Cooper.
"When they both walked into the hotel, I thought, 'here we go!'
"It's nice to have them back but I just try to concentrate on my own game.
Pleased
"If I was selected, I was selected - if not, it wasn't to be. We will see how Friday goes and then take it from there.
"I thought I did what I could (against England and Scotland). I stuck to the gameplan and things worked out all right.
"The coaches were pretty pleased with what I offered and now I've got a start on Friday, which is obviously what you want."
Rees, who joined the Blues from London Irish in a bid to boost his international chances, will go up against talented France scrum-half Morgan Parra, who has made an impressive start to the championship.
And Rees knows he will need to disrupt Parra at the Millennium Stadium if he is to get the better of him.
"He's had an excellent start to the Six Nations, to be fair to him," Rees said.
"I've looked at his last couple of games and I think he controls a lot of what the French do - he is key for them.
"Maybe I have got to try and get in his face a little bit and see where that gets us."
