Cardiff Rugby coach Corniel van Zyl believes the club’s new recruits have made a really positive impact since coming on board.

There will be a host of fresh faces at the Arms Park this coming season and Van Zyl says they have already made their presence felt over the summer.

Back row man Taine Basham, who has 17 Wales caps to his name, has arrived from the Dragons, while fellow Welsh internationals Ioan Lloyd and Sam Wainwright have switched from the Scarlets, with Scotland Test prop Javan Sebastian coming down from Edinburgh.

In addition, second row George Nott has joined Basham in making the move from Rodney Parade, while Wales U20s duo Ioan Emanuel and Ieuan Davies have come on a season-long loan from Bath, which sees prop Emanuel reuniting with his centre brother Steffan.

Commenting on how the signings have settled in, forwards coach Van Zyl said: “To be fair, the time we’ve spent together it’s been really, really positive.

“I think they will add a lot to the group and ultimately give us another opportunity to grow.

“I do believe their input and also just their presence has really been made clear.”

Reflecting generally on the first month of pre-season, the former Italian international said: “It’s been a positive environment to be in. The energy from the players, staff, everybody has been really good.

“We’re enjoying it and trying to get the best out of each other.

“If you look a year ago, we talked a lot about how the group is going to grow and become a better team. This year it’s just another layer, so we are finding time to find ways to make it come to action.

“It’s been really positive so far with the four weeks we’ve done.

“What always stays in the background is are we enjoying it and are we fighting for what we believe? It could be the difference at the end of the day, whether that’s training hard or preparing your body to be able to fight. It all falls into the same thing. So it’s ultimately about playing for the jersey and, while you do it, try and enjoy it as much as you can.”

Van Zyl says there has been a firm emphasis on transition since the players came in for pre-season.

“It’s about moving on to the next thing which, in a rugby game, is basically from attack to defence or team stuff like kicking and having the ball, losing the ball,” he says.

“You almost need to change in the moment from attack into defence. Obviously that’s always been in rugby, but we just felt if we can focus a little bit on that during this first part of pre-season, it will help steer us in the right direction and then basically transition.

“You can bring it back to whatever you can think of. You can transition your body, you can transition your mindset, you can transition simple stuff from one exercise to the next or attack to defence.

“So there’s quite a fair bit to have it as a talking point and a focus point for basically whatever we do.

“The new players are definitely a very good example of transition because they have obviously come from different environments into this.”

It’s Van Zyl’s second year at the Arms Park following his move from Ealing Trailfinders.

Born in Nelspruit, South Africa, he started out as a player with the Pumas, occupying the second row berth. After a year in England with Rotherham Titans, he returned home to play for the Cheetahs, winning the Currie Cup, ahead of a move to Italian club Benetton where he was to spend eight years.

He won eight caps for the Azzurri after qualifying on residency, figuring in the 2011 World Cup and 2012 Six Nations, before retiring to focus on coaching.

Cutting his teeth on that front with Benetton and the Cheetahs, he went on to have spells at London Irish and Ealing before linking up with Cardiff last summer.