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Nicky Smith believes Wales’ World Cup campaign is starting against Japan on Saturday.
The Sale The relaxed prop was part of the Wales 2019 World Cup squad that reached the semi-finals under Warren Gatland.
Smith should win his 67th cap this weekend as Wales continue your Nations Championship campaign in Cardiff after winning one and losing two of their summer Tests in the competition.
But Smith is looking beyond the four autumn Tests, against which Wales opened the World Cup Zimbabwe in Adelaide in just 11 months.
“In this group we are expected to win all the games at home,” said the 32-year-old Smith. “I think that’s the expectation of the team now.
“We understand the challenges of that and we have Japan, New Zealand and Australia, all tough games to themselves.
“We want to win as many games as possible at home and we know the bigger picture is that this is a World Cup year.
“We want to go into that World Cup with a lot of momentum, and the fall is a great starting point for that.
“So to have a positive autumn, you know, that really puts us in a good place. The Six Nations, the World Cup camp, the warm-up games and then that first group game (in Australia).
“We want to go into it full of momentum, full of positivity about our performances and where we are as a team.”
Smith replaced Leicester for sale this summer as English clubs bolster their Welsh holdings.
Skipper Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan left Ospreys for Gloucester with their influence at Kingsholm followed by Aaron Wainwright, who played a key role in Leicester’s rise to the top Gallagher Prem following his Dragons departure.
In all, Wales have 14 England players in Steve Tandy’s Nations Championship squad, as well as Montpellier lock forward Adam Beard.
Smith said: “Welsh lads do Wales proud (in England). It’s a competitive league.
“A lot of guys who haven’t played in Prem before have stepped up and you’d swear they’ve been there for years.
“But I doubt anyone is surprised when you look at the talent. Dewi, Jac and Aaron are world-class players and play for good teams.”
“So that’s a recipe for them to play on a big stage and play big games, and they were brilliant. Credit to them.”
Wales suffered defeats in the Nations Championship Argentina and South Africa July after the beating Fiji at the opening in Cardiff.
Worryingly, Wales have conceded 16 tries and conceded 106 tackles in those three games, with strengthening a porous defense at the top of their autumn agenda.
Defense coach Peter Murchie said: “For my part, we can be a lot better in the summer.
“I wasn’t happy with the defense at all and I think there is a lot more in us.
“Improvements have to be made. We want to be extremely tough to break down and a tough team to play against.”
