Wing Ashton Hewitt is determined to get firing on all cylinders for Dragons RFC - as he bids to put the pain of recent injuries firmly behind him.
Hewitt, 28, make his return at the start of this season after 17 months out because of ruptured knee ligaments.
The Newport-born speedster, though, was forced under the knife again in October after only two games back after suffering an ankle injury against Cell C Sharks at Rodney Parade.
Now back to full fitness, Hewitt was back to his best in the derby defeat to Cardiff.
He even clocked a league high six defenders beaten in the Round 10 BKT United Rugby Championship encounter.
“I've loved being back,” he said. “It’s been a tough couple of years, to come back and then get hit with another injury and get operated again was hard to take.
“You have to pick yourself back up and go through rehab and all that again, but it's all behind me now and I’m just looking to hit as good a form as I can and try and help the Dragons as best as I can.
“The standard of training here has been good, which has obviously influenced it and helped me get back on my feet and firing again.
“It’s nice that the boys are also putting in the performances as well which makes it a bit easier as an individual to put out your best performance."
Hewitt will now line up out wide for Dragons at Parc y Scarlets on New Year’s Day (kick-off 5.15pm).
And as we kick-off 2023, Hewitt has reflected on the last 12 months and spoken of his determination to put any injury woe behind him.
“If I'm being completely honest, I'd be lying if I didn't say I went through a short period of feeling sorry for myself and feeling that is it's just happening all the time,” he admitted.
“You have those days of frustration and anger, and no doubt they pop up again along the way with rehab, but you have a network of support around you.
“Whether it be coaches, physios, the other players, family, friends, they all contribute to getting you back to where you were.
“You have that drive to get back to where you were and help the team out.
“You always have that end goal in sight, to get back to where you were and push beyond that.
“It's difficult, it's not easy, but I'm not the only person who's ever had to go through it. Sometimes it's about pulling your socks up, as they say, and getting on with it."
Hewitt was inches from a derby day score last weekend with only a superb try saving tackle from former team-mate Taulupe Faletau dragging him into touch after a trademark electric break.
“Yeah, my foot was in touch! I did give him a little comment afterwards,” smiled Hewitt.
“I was in touch, and I've been apologising to Angus (O’Brien) for a couple of days now.
“On another day, maybe I would have had a try, but it was good to get going. Doing what I feel is my strength.
“It's another step in the right direction and hopefully next time I can finish it off.”
Hewitt firmly believes Dragons are on the right road as they look to start a new calendar year with a bang.
And he wants to the team to respond to recent narrow defeats in a positive manner.
“It's not just last weekend, it’s the last few games we've played,” he stated.
“Even in South Africa, we felt that we should have won those games.
“Maybe it's something that we say all too often at Dragons – we should have won. But we genuinely believe it.
“We believe that our performances are getting stronger and stronger. Dare I say it, I think the expectation is on us now to put those performances in and get those get those results.
“It's about getting it over the line now, not losing these games on the last play or the last phase.
“As a team, a lot of it comes down to our consistency,” he added. “We're showing growth in areas of the game and now it's just avoiding those blips.
“There were a couple of tries last weekend where we didn't make it hard enough for Cardiff to score - that's the difference come the end of the game.
“It's just trying to stay on top for a little bit longer in those games in those crucial periods. Making sure that we don't give them any ins.
“Scarlets are going to get their highs in the game this weekend, it’s just about how we manage that and be as consistent in our performance and in our discipline.”
