LAW student Will Talbot-Davies hopes to show that he isn't just sharp of mind when he lines up on the wing for the Dragons at Murrayfield this evening.
The 21-year-old from Solihull has played at full-back for most of his burgeoning career yet will wear 11 on his back against Edinburgh in the Guinness PRO14 (kick-off 7.35pm).
He will make his ninth Dragons outing of the campaign and is on the wing for the fourth game on the spin, lining up against livewire Scotland speedster Darcy Graham.
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Talbot-Davies believes a spell with Wales in the lung-busting World Rugby Sevens Series has helped him in his bid to flourish out wide.
"As long as I am on the pitch I am happy. I have always thought of myself as a 15 but then I went away with the sevens and have probably got that extra yard of pace," said Talbot-Davies, who played at the World Cup in San Francisco in July.
"I've transferred to the wing but that is probably due to opportunity really, to get some game time.
"Maybe long-term I am more of a 15 but I am getting more and more used to the wing. It is different and I have a lot to learn, but I am just enjoying being involved."
Talbot-Davies made his Dragons debut in a 2016 Anglo-Welsh Cup game at Leicester – the same afternoon that Wales tighthead Leon Brown made his senior bow – and his opposite number was Munster and Ireland ace Simon Zebo on his first PRO14 start in Cork.
It's still early days but the former Wales Under-20s international, who came through the Welsh Exiles programme, is starting to settle in senior rugby.
"I am enjoying the challenge and I am not at the point where I am overawed, I am relishing the opportunities and hopefully I can push on and put a marker down," he said.
"There is a lot of competition and no security of places, so there is a point to prove every time that I go on the pitch. Every time I get the ball I try to make something happen and get involved as much as I can."
With Hallam Amos with Wales and Ashton Hewitt unlikely to play this season because of a shoulder injury, there are openings in the Dragons back three.
That means that Talbot-Davies is currently putting sevens on the back burner after featuring in the Dubai and Cape Town tournaments at the start of the series.
"It's been brilliant with the off the field experiences of travelling the world and learning about recovery of your body," said Talbot-Davies, who has to balance his rugby with second year studies at Cardiff University.
"Also, it's great playing against some of the best players in the world. It's a completely different game but some of the talent is phenomenal.
"I've worked on defence and my pace, which is transferable to the 15-a-side game and that has helped massively.
"It's tough and a pretty brutal sport. It's more of a mental game, your mind switches off before your body does."
Fellow Sevens World Series graduate Graham will ensure Talbot-Davies stays alert in Edinburgh tonight.
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