Willis Halaholo has told Cardiff Blues fans to expect more from him next season after admitting he failed to cope with the switch from Super Rugby to the Guinness Pro12.
The Blues centre faces Zebre at the Arms Park on Friday night with his side already assured of a play-off place to try and make next season’s European Champions Cup.
But Halaholo – who moved to the Blues last November – also wants to give a hint of his true form after conceding he struggled in going straight from a season of New Zealand rugby into a domestic season in Wales.
The 26-year-old became a Super Rugby title winner with the Hurricanes last season and then played in the provincial Mitre 10 competition before switching to the Blues.
He said: “I thought I could come over and handle it but halfway through my body started to break down.
“I was getting fatigued and that could be seen in a few of my performances but it’s a good challenge and a good learning.
“It needed to take time. For me, coming from two different environments straight into this one, with no break, it was a bit hard for me to adapt.
“I’m really glad I came before next season when I will have a good handle to start from.”
Halaholo’s form and fitness has fluctuated, but there have been glimpses of his true talent and he is likely to be a key player if the Blues are to overcome English and French opposition next month and avoid another season in the second tier Challenge Cup.
The New Zealander – who has ambitions to play for Wales when he has completed three years of residency – says his own personal ups and downs have been echoed by the Blues as a whole.
“It’s been tough. We’ve had a lot of injuries, trying to get a lot of combinations together and get things going, but there is a bit of frustration because there are a few games we definitely could’ve taken.
“This game is another building block and we’ve got to look forward to the next couple of games, leading up to next season.
“When you have everyone on the paddock, it becomes a bit easier as a team. We’ve had a few disruptions with injuries and international call-ups and I guess that left us a bit vulnerable. The positive is, when all the boys are back, things tend to go smoothly.
“The belief is definitely there. We need to work out what we can do worst case scenario, when injuries come along, to carry momentum on throughout the season.
“I know the great teams treat every game as a Test match. You can’t fall back because it’s a different game. We have to treat it just like the Ospreys and block out the noise. It is 15 v 15 and we have to get the job done.
“We want to keep the momentum going, take it game-by-game and hopefully carry that momentum into the play-off games.”
Blues head coach Danny Wilson has made three changes for their final home game of the regular season. Aled Summerhill comes onto the wing, with Rhun Williams moving to full-back in the place of Matthew Morgan, while Tomos Williams gets the nod at scrum-half ahead of namesake Lloyd.
Up front, Rhys Gill starts at loose-head prop with Gethin Jenkins unavailable due to a knee injury.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Rhun Williams, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Ellis Jenkins (c), 6 Josh Navidi, 5 Macauley Cook, 4 Jarrad Hoeata, 3 Taufa’ao Filise, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Rhys Gill
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 James Down, 20 Sion Bennett, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Steve Shingler, 23 Matthew Morgan
Zebre: 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Kayle Van Zyl, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Tommaso Castello (c), 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Derick Minnie, 7 Jacopo Sarto, 6 Maxime Mbandà, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements: 16 Tommaso D’Apice, 17 Guillermo Roan, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Joshua Furno, 20 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Kurt Baker, 23 Matteo Pratichetti
Date: Friday, April 28
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:05 local (18:05 GMT)
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Nigel Correll (Ireland), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO: Kevin Beggs (Ireland)