James Down: Happy to extend deal with Cardiff Blues

Cardiff Blues foward James Down has signed a new contract with the club.

The second-rower made his Blues debut in January 2007 and quickly established himself as one to watch.

The 25-year-old suffered a broken leg early in the clash with Racing Metro in November 2011, but he battled back to fitness and earned a call-up to the Wales squad for the autumn internationals.

"It was an easy decision to sign again with the Blues," he said. "It's my hometown region. I've played all my rugby here and come through the academy system, so I always wanted to stay.

"It's been really positive on a personal note to play a lot of rugby this year having picked up injuries in previous seasons. It's good to play a lot of games in a row and I aim to stay in the team and hopefully build some wins up.

"It's an important thing for any player to get a run of games to get some consistency and this is the first season I've been able to do that in a Blues shirt.

"We have a lot of talented young players who are gaining experience week in week out and I think, hopefully we will see that talent come through in wins.

"Certainly in seasons to come I can't see any reason why we can't challenge for honours with the talent we have, if we can keep hold of quality players.

"Phil Davies has also come in and put in some systems and a new dynamic to training. I think we are only a few inches away from putting in a string of wins together and moving up the Rabo table."