Wales prop Dillon Lewis looking to prove the doubters wrong

Wales tighthead prop Dillon Lewis is trying to prove the doubters wrong as he fronts up against arguably the best pack in world rugby, during the three Test series against the Springboks.

Lewis put in an 80-minute shift against the Boks at Loftus last week after his replacement, Tomas Francis, was concussed and he had to return to the field.

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With Francis now ruled out of the rest of the series, Lewis is the only senior tighthead in the squad, with the other two tightheads, Sam Wainwright and Harri O’ Connor, yet to make their international debuts.

Lewis will thus be aiming for another strong showing at Free State Stadium on Saturday after putting in a powerful performance at Loftus, and he will have taken confidence out of his 80-minute effort.

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“It was a bit of a win-win game to me going in (at Loftus). Everyone had sort of written me off at scrum time, so if it didn’t go well it was expected and if it did go well, there is something for me to take confidence from,” explained Lewis.

“I have given people reason to doubt me at times and that’s down to my own inconsistency that I need to iron out, but I tend not to listen too much to external factors. If the coach is picking me I must be doing something right.

“So that’s the main thing, just concentrating on the job at hand and just trying to dull those external voices out really.”

Dark places

Lewis admits that the Welsh pack was taken to some dark places in the first Test, but also felt that they had managed to ask some questions themselves, which they will hope to continue doing in the next two Tests.

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“I’d like to think we took a bit to South Africa as well. We expected it to go there. You always do when you play against them,” said Lewis.

“It was physical, it was tough. We did go to some dark places at times, especially about 70 minutes in.

“But it is always like that against them. I expect it is going to get a lot tougher over these next two Tests as well. Both teams are only going to get better and it is going to get more physical and faster, and I expect it’s going to get darker.”