Dan Lydiate happy to join fellow Lions at Racing Metro in Paris

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Dan Lydiate at a British and Irish Lions training session

Wales flanker Dan Lydiate says the presence of familiar faces at Racing Metro will help him settle quickly when he joins the French club this summer.

Lydiate will be playing alongside Wales centre Jamie Roberts and Ireland fly-half Jonathan Sexton next season.

The 25-year-old's move to Racing Metro in Paris has yet to be confirmed.

But he told reporters at a Lions media conference: "It's awesome to have such quality signings for the same team that you're going to be going to."

Roberts and Sexton are currently training alongside Lydiate in preparation for the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia.

All three will move to Racing Metro on their return, with Sexton expected to become the highest-paid player in France.

They will be joined by former Ireland fly-half Ronan O'Gara, who has ended his playing career to accept a coaching role with the Parisian club.

This is the first time Lydiate has confirmed he will be joining Racing Metro after spending six years with Newport Gwent Dragons.

He added: "I'm going to try to learn the lingo, but to start with it's nice that you've got the chance to have some conversations in your native tongue.

"It gets me really excited to be playing along with and being coached by legends of the game, so I'm really looking forward to it."

Lydiate and his Wales team-mate Roberts are expected to be confirmed as Racing Metro signings later this month.

The flanker was player of the tournament as Wales clinched the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2012, but an ankle injury prevented him from adding to his 27 caps in this season's campaign as the champions retained their title.

He missed six months of the season after breaking an ankle in September, but made a comeback for the Dragons in time to be included in the Lions squad for the tour of Australia in June.

Lydiate believes the lay-off that threatened his chances of making the tour could ultimately work in his favour.

"I feel really fresh, it's like the start of my season all over again," he said.

"I missed six months of rugby and I've played five games now so I'm really looking forward to it.

"There's seven warm-up games before the Tests, so there's plenty of rugby to be played but I feel in good shape."

The Lions kick off their tour with a warm-up game against the Barbarians in Hong Kong on 1 June.

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