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Dragons No. 8 never dreamed of playing for Wales

Newport Gwent Dragons No. 8 Taulupe Faletau never dreamed that he would play for Wales, let alone reach half-a-century of international caps.

Faletau was named yesterday in the Wales team to face Fiji at the Millennium Stadium, this will be his 50th appearance in a red shirt and he will share the experience with close friend and former Newport Gwent Dragons team-mate Dan Lydiate who will also hit the milestone.

The back-row trio of Faletau, Lydiate and Sam Warburton have teamed-up a record 26 times since they first took the field together against the Barbarians back in 2011. And Faletau admits he hopes he has better memories of his 50th cap than his first. 

He commented: "I never imagined playing for Wales or playing international rugby, so 50 caps is something I've never dreamed of. My first cap was against the Barbarians in 2011 and we lost in the last minute so hopefully I'll have better memories from this one." 

A win on Thursday night could seal Wales' quarter-final spot if Australia overcome England on Saturday and Faletau is determined to make their humbling of the World Cup hosts count. 

“Saturday was awesome but we have to back it up with a performance against Fiji otherwise it will be almost pointless. It's always good to go up against Fiji, Samoa and Tonga and it should be exciting.

"This Fiji team seem to be more organised in their set-pieces, they're quite strong and they showed that against England and Australia as well. They're not afraid to play and they're dangerous from all areas of the pitch.”

Faletau added: "We can't think too far ahead because if we don't get the result we want against Fiji then last week's result goes out of the window. We've been working hard this week to get the small details right."

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