George North: Wales wing aims to recover from Lions 'nightmare'

George North played in all three Tests when the 2013 Lions won in Australia

George North is hoping to bounce back from his "nightmare" summer with the British and Irish Lions through his performances for Northampton and Wales.

North was not selected for the first Test against New Zealand and then ruled out for the rest of the Lions tour with a hamstring injury.

"The summer was hard," North told BBC Radio Northampton.

"Selection was going to be a nightmare and to come away with an injury was also a nightmare."

North had an extended break and has impressed with performances for Northampton as he bids to play for Wales again this Autumn and build on his 72 Test caps.

The 25-year-old wing faces competition from Scarlets duo Steff Evans and Leigh Halfpenny and Saracens full-back Liam Williams for a place in the back three.

"From minute one it's about never being content with where you are," said North. "As soon as that sets in you're on the back foot.

"It was perfect timing for the break to go away to review, break it down and then completely switch off from rugby.

"Then come back in and start playing in a confident team and a team that's playing well.

"All I can do now leading into the Autumn series is to make sure we keep this confidence and continuity going, that I can keep building my own performances as well.

"In a selfish way feeding off the confidence of the team and hopefully keep performances up like I know I can play."

Welsh exiles

Dan Biggar will join Northampton next season while fellow Welsh team-mate Rhys Webb has also joined the exodus of players leaving regional rugby when he links up with Toulon next season.

That WRU policy permits only four players at clubs outside Wales to play for the national side for the next two seasons with the quota dropping to two wildcard picks for the 2019-20 season.

This policy could affect North if he stays with Northampton with Taulupe Faletau, Luke Charteris, Rhys Priestland, Jamie Roberts and Liam Williams already playing in England.

North says he is happy with life at Northampton who top the Aviva Premiership after five games.

"If you look from last year to this year it's completely the opposite," said North.

"At the moment we're in a great position and we are just focusing on each game.

"That's worked well for us and shows in the performances."