He has earned 36 caps, figured in a Grand Slam, played in a Rugby World Cup semi-final and just made a key contribution to Wales’ Six Nations victory over Scotland.
Yet, according to his club coach, Dillon Lewis doesn’t receive anything like the credit he deserves.
In fact, Cardiff boss Dai Young feels the 26-year-old prop often comes in for unfair flak, particularly over his scrummaging.
Lewis once again showed his worth to the Welsh squad with the impact he made as a replacement against Scotland at the Principality Stadium last weekend.
In the 20 minutes he was on the field, he made no fewer than nine tackles and capped his display by winning a crucial jackal penalty over the ball in the closing stages, clamping himself over a prone George Turner.
It was a trademark piece of work from the Church Village product, as former Wales and Lions captain Sam Warburton alluded to in commentary for the BBC.
“That’s one of his big points of difference as a tighthead prop,” Warburton said.
“He’s really good in the loose and competes hard on the ball.
“He gets on the ball just half a second before the opposition and manages to stay strong.
“That could be the match-winning penalty.”
It was indeed followed by a Welsh win, as they triumphed 20-17, and Lewis could be proud of the part he played in a frantic final quarter.
Read more: The latest Six Nations headlines are here
Young, himself a Test tighthead back in the day, hopes it will help change people’s perceptions of the moustachioed front row man.
“I think he gets a little bit of a raw deal, to be honest,” the Cardiff director of rugby said.
“He is somebody that a lot of people seem to chuck stones at.
“He seems to be one that quite regularly takes a lot of stick.
“I suppose that’s Wales a little bit and the boys have got to go through that.
“Dillon came on the scene really young and he’s still quite young for an international tighthead.
“For a tighthead prop forward, scrummaging is your bread and butter. That’s your first job.
“That’s an area of the game he is still looking to improve and get better, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near the weakness that people seem to be throwing stones at him for.
“That’s a constant work-on and I’m confident he’s getting better and better with that.
“His game around the field is as good as any tighthead playing rugby. That, to me, has always been his point of difference.
“He tried to put a bit of weight on to help his scrummaging, which I think took a little bit away from his game around the field.
“We have had a chat on that and I really believe what he offers around the field is his point of difference and he shouldn’t lose that.
“I think he is back to that now.
“He has showed it in his appearances for us and certainly with Wales.
“He is a very strong carrier, makes a lot of tackles and is very good over the ball, as we saw on the weekend, and I think his scrummaging is getting to where he wants it to be.
“So I think the future is bright for Dillon and he’s starting to show people that he’s getting more and more comfortable as an international tighthead prop forward.”
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