Rory Thornton keen to make his Wales debut count against Samoa
Rory Thornton, second from left, will make his Wales debut against Samoa
©PA
Ospreys lock Rory Thornton is keen to make his Wales debut count against Samoa in the upcoming Test in Apia on Saturday.
The former Wales Under-20 skipper replaced Cory Hill in the line-up after the 25-year-old received a surprise call-up from Warren Gatland for Lions duty.
"It's been building as I've been in a few camps now but to finally get my name called out on that team sheet was an awesome feeling," Thornton said.
"I've been champing at the bit to get involved. I've been training and working hard and like every young Welsh boy I want to play for Wales.
"When it actually comes round you get that sensation of pride."
Wales interim coach Robin McBryde has made seven changes to his line-up that won against Tonga with four players Gareth Davies, Kristian Dacey, Tomas Francis and Hill joining Lions camp while Alex Cuthbert is out injured.
Thornton, who was a part of the training squad of Wales ahead of the 2015 World Cup wants to use his experience of playing for Ospreys in the Saturday's game.
"I've been playing a lot for the Ospreys this year and being involved in the PRO12 and the Challenge Cup has given me quite a bit of experience," he said.
"But Test rugby is a completely different animal altogether so I'm really looking forward to the challenge on Friday against a strong Samoan team."
Samoa are fresh from a 0-78 drubbing they got against New Zealand last weekend but Thornton is not willing to write them off.
"Samoa have a big experienced pack and we have a couple of young guys here looking to blood themselves on the international stage.
"I think it'll be a good challenge overall. We've had a couple of training sessions and we've been prepping ourselves well. We're looking forward to getting out there now."
