WALES lock Cory Hill says he faces a fight for his jersey at Newport Gwent Dragons as he strives to earn selection for the Six Nations.

The 24-year-old will make his regional return from the bench in this evening's Guinness Pro12 clash against Leinster at the Royal Dublin Society (kick-off 7.35pm).

Hill made his Test debut against Australia at the start of November and went on to win caps in the wins against Japan and South Africa.

Despite an impressive autumn the lock knows that he needs to perform strongly in December and January if he is to slug it out with European rivals on the international scene next year.

"As long as I play regularly for the Dragons and put good performances in hopefully the chance will come in the Six Nations," said Hill, a back-up at the RDS with Rynard Landman and Nick Crosswell paired in the boilerhouse.

"It was a great experience to take a step up and get a few games under my belt," he continued. "It's nice to be back at the Dragons now to get my teeth into it and hopefully get back on a winning bus.

"I have to fight for my position here. The boys have had a good couple of wins on the bounce and are playing decent rugby, so it's about getting back to know my role in the Dragons jersey and kicking on."

Hill returns to a Dragons side in buoyant mood after Sunday's 27-19 victory against Edinburgh that lifted them to ninth in the table. The lock is pleased to be put straight back into the fray after his international exertions.

He said: "I want to get straight back into it – two minutes (against South Africa) wasn't a lot last week! But your body does take a bit of a battering over the five weeks because the intensity in training is a massive step up.

"We know what we are up against in Leinster, they are a side that are always at the top end of the table and they are one of the strongest teams in Europe, but we are looking to get a victory.

"We are starting to play some good rugby and are going in the right direction. We've had back-to-back league wins, which we haven't done for a long time, and another in the Anglo-Welsh while there was a good win in the European Challenge Cup, so things are starting to boil up nicely."