NEWPORT Gwent Dragons lock Cory Hill has vowed to push the senior Wales locks to the limit in a bid to add to his Six Nations caps.

The 25-year-old, who has been released from the squad to get game time against Connacht in the Guinness PRO12 on Saturday, has been the beneficiary of Luke Charteris’ injury misfortune to feature as a replacement in the Tests against Italy and England.

Bath boss Todd Blackadder has revealed that former Dragon Charteris will not feature this weekend against Harlequins because of the small fracture in his hand and a tight hamstring, raising the possibility of Hill keeping his spot on the bench as back-up to Alun Wyn Jones and Jake Ball in Scotland a week on Saturday.

But the five-times capped forward’s mantra stays the same regardless of his competition – work your socks off.

“When I came in for the Six Nations there was a lot of experience there so I just kept my head down, trained hard and hoped to get in the matchday 23,” said Hill, who was capped against Australia, Japan and South Africa last autumn.

“I’ve managed to do that for the last two games but with Charteris coming back that’s going to be an even harder task, so I’ve got to train even harder and push the boys right to the limit.

“I suppose his injury opened the door and I’ve had two appearances off the bench, which I’ll take, but I want to now progress and be involved in a couple more games.”

Hill’s rise was remarkable last November after initially being left out of the squad for the four autumn Tests.

He made an impression on the Wales management, particularly with his lineout expertise, and was rewarded a spot on the bench in the Stadio Olimpico, heading out in the middle after just five minutes when captain Alun Wyn Jones suffered a blood injury.

Hill said: “I’d only just sat down and up I got because Al went off but it’s probably better when you don’t have time to think about it. Straight on and straight into it.

“A full stadium for Wales-England was great,” he continued. “It was up there with one of my best rugby experiences so far and hopefully a few more like that will go down well.

“For 75 minutes the performance was there but ultimately international rugby is all about winning so there was a massive disappointment in the changing room after the game.

“I suppose we’ve got to bottle that up now because we’ve got a big game against Scotland.”

Hill and uncapped Ospreys lock Rory Thornton have been released for PRO12 action while Charteris has gone back to Bath.

Blackadder, however, says the Wales international won’t feature against Quins at the Rec on Saturday.

“Luke’s hand hasn’t come right yet and he’s still got a bit of a hamstring issue,” he told the Bath Chronicle.

“It was just a wee fracture to his hand, which takes a bit of time. They’re niggly things and you can’t rush them.”