Dragon Lydiate can't stop smiling (From South Wales Argus)

Dragon Lydiate can't stop smiling

10:20am Tuesday 24th November 2009

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DAN Lydiate is still walking on air after earning his Wales cap against Argentina, further boosted by the praise he has received for the impact he made when he went on as a replacement almost ten minutes from the end.

The 21-year-old Newport Gwent Dragons flanker took a long throw at the tail of a line-out and set off for what seemed a certain try, only to be recalled for an infringement by skipper Ryan Jones, and he also put in one big hit on a Puma opponent.

But Lydiate is still basking in the sun and taking in the moment he dashed on to the field to win that coveted cap.

“I haven’t stopped smiling,” he said. “I kept my cap on as long as I could in the evening function, it was a huge honour for me.

“My family (mother, father, brother and girlfriend) were all down at the game and my mam didn’t stop crying all day, she still had tears in her eyes on Sunday.

“I wasn’t sure whether I was going on, especially when after about 60 minutes Jonathan Thomas and Huw Bennett got on, so I thought maybe I wouldn’t.

“But then they said it was me and I said to myself, ‘yes, this is it’ and I tried to compose myself and remember all the calls.

“You always want to try to make an impression off the bench, and I tried to get into the game. I tried to get my hands on the ball, or on somebody!

“I was trying to run around like a banshee and smash anything really.

“I could see the ball was floating over the top of a line-out and I set off, but the whistle had gone.

“I enjoyed the whole experience, the build-up going in on the bus, seeing all the fans and then the anthems, it was brilliant.”

Lydiate hopes once the autumn series is over he can make even more of an impression with the Dragons in the Magners League and Heineken Cup.

“I feel I’ve learnt a lot from being here,” he said.

“I’m not one to pipe up in training, but if something needs to be said I’ll say ‘maybe we ought to try this.’ “I had a couple of texts from Paul Turner (Dragons coach) on Saturday, he congratulated me and said he’d have a few beers on me which was quite nice.”

And there is no chance of Lydiate forgetting about the horrific injury he suffered in Perpignan just over two years ago playing for the Dragons in the Heineken Cup when he broke his neck, especially as older brother Jack, another back row forward, is also recovering from a serious injury.

“He dislocated his ankle and broke his tibia and fibula playing for Pontypool against Aberavon last season and is only just starting to lift some weights again,” he said.

And getting away to the family farm outside Llandrindod Wells will also keep his feet on the ground.

“I still head back there to help out if there’s any chance,” he said. “I enjoy it, it’s something completely different. I do all kinds of natural things like like herding the sheep from one field to another, checking the stock or fixing fences, anything really.”

Lydiate hopes he can be shepherded on to the field for Wales a few more times before the season is out. From there the sky’s the limit for the most refreshing young guy to hit the Welsh scene for many a day.

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