AFTER a final season with Newport Gwent Dragons spoilt by injury and a frustrating spell with Racing Metro, blindside flanker Dan Lydiate hopes to be back to best with Wales at the World Cup.

The 27-year-old is settled again after making the move to the Ospreys from Paris last season and has been putting in the hard yards with his Test teammates in Switzerland, Qatar and on home soil.

Lydiate, who made 85 appearances for the Dragons between 2007 and 2013, will finally get a chance to get out in the middle on Saturday when he lines up against Ireland and hopes to hit the ground running in Dublin.

“This is the first proper pre-season I’ve had since the last World Cup, so hopefully the hard slog we’ve been through in training will pay off,” said the chop-tackling blindside, who toured with the Lions in the summer of 2013 after a rapid comeback from an ankle injury suffered at Rodney Parade.

“I’m looking forward to getting a bit of game-time now. All the hard work is in the bank.”

“It’s the first hit-out for a lot of us, but at the end of the day it’s an international. We’re excited about going out there, but it’s going to be a big challenge,” he continued.

“We saw how well-drilled Ireland were in the first match and they’ve had a couple more weeks to prepare. So we’re expecting a tough Test match, but it’s brilliant preparation for the World Cup.

“There will be parts of the game where both sides are rusty but hopefully it’ll be a good show and it’ll be a good Test match.”

Lydiate is used to being joined by Sam Warburton and Taulupe Faletau in the back row but the former misses out at the Aviva Stadium with a minor shoulder problem, providing an opportunity for another Osprey in Justin Tipuric.

“There’s no better replacement than Tips,” said Lydiate. “I thought some of his touches were outstanding in the first game against Ireland. I’m looking forward to playing alongside him.”