North excelled for Wales in the World Cup © Getty Images

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Welsh winger George North is relishing the chance to make his Heineken Cup debut on Saturday after excelling on the international stage.

The 19-year-old winger has already made a huge impact for Wales, shining throughout their World Cup campaign, and with nine tries in 15 appearances for the national side he looks primed to shine in Europe's premier club tournament when it kicks off on Friday. However - somewhat surprisingly - he is yet to line up for the Scarlets on the European stage after missing their campaign last term through injury.

But he looks set to break that duck when the Welsh region play Top 14 side Castres on Saturday at the Parc Y Scarlets and the young winger is looking forward to the chance to test his skills against the best the Northern Hemisphere has to offer.

"I think I've done it in the wrong order, haven't I?" North told the BBC. "I did the whole regional thing first, then missed a bit, then gone to national and then come back to the European [Cup].

"I'm looking forward to it. It's my first game out here [Parc y Scarlets] on the European stage and it's something every professional player wants to experience. Everyone tells me it's the second season that gets them, but hopefully I won't experience that. But obviously I have been making a bit of a fuss so hopefully I can get away with it again."

And with Wales' regions still riding on the wave of post-World Cup optimism, North hopes the impact the country have made on the international stage will transfer to impressive performances at club level.

"We had a lot of boys in the Welsh squad so hopefully the professionalism we bring back will hopefully push the region forward. The boys here have done a really good job themselves to keep us up in contention and hopefully with a mixture of the World Cup experience we can do well. I think it will be the same for most of the regions."