Wales star Andrew Coombs not one to rest on his laurels (From South Wales Argus)

Wales star Andrew Coombs not one to rest on his laurels

9:40am Wednesday 20th March 2013 in Latest Rugby By Chris Kirwan

TEST ACE: Newport Gwent Dragons lock Andrew Coombs is chasing more Wales caps

NEWPORT Gwent Dragons lock Andrew Coombs won’t be putting his feet up and basking in Six Nations glory – he wants to feed his appetite for more international honours.

Four days ago the 28-year-old was toasting Wales’ title success following the thrashing of England.

Now he’s back with his region and aiming to add to his four caps.

Coombs will feature in the RaboDirect Pro12 clash against the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium on Friday evening.

And he knows that he needs to impress in order to earn a spot on Wales’ summer tour to the Far East.

“Japan is something to look forward to,” he said. “Most people look forward to a couple of weeks off but the next few games you will see myself fighting for an opportunity to prove I’m capable of playing at that level.

“I’ve spoken to (forwards coach and boss for the summer tour) Robin McBryde and the feedback was good.

“There are areas I need to work on but you always need to improve on your game to stay at the top level.

“I’m a senior player so if selected I would like to go in there and put my stamp on things.”

A Six Nations winner’s medal looked a long way off when Wales trailed 30-3 to Ireland on Coombs’ international debut.

But he more than played his part in getting them back on track, producing sterling performances in the boilerhouse against France and Italy before coming off the bench against England.

“I can’t quite believe I’ve got that medal. It’s amazing and I’m so happy with what the team achieved.

“I didn’t play much of a part in those last two weeks, apart from a couple of minutes against England, but it was fantastic.

“It’s so special. It’s my first team medal in senior rugby and it’s quite a good one to get!

“It was phenomenal just to be part of it. I watched them win the Grand Slam last year and you can’t picture yourself in that set-up, it’s amazing.”

Coombs has got used to being looked after at Wales’ plush Vale of Glamorgan base. But it didn’t take long for his Dragons teammates to bring Coombs back down to earth and make sure that he doesn’t turn all big time on them.

“It’s back to the day job but that’s good and it’s nice to be with my mates here again,” he said. “I’ve been away while so it’s been good to catch up on the banter.

“They’ve taken the mick out of me a bit but I expected that. I’m just keeping my head down and taking what is thrown at me!”

* See tomorrow’s Argus for Coombs’ thoughts on the challenge of going up against the formidable Ospreys pack.