Hook was a surprise inclusion among the replacements for the Magners League opener against Connacht in Galway.

The Ospreys' Lions tourists were expected to sit out the opening weeks of the season having only returned to pre-season training in August.

However, Hook and scrum-half Mike Phillips were included for the difficult trip to the Sportsground.

Hook said: "It's a little bit of a surprise to be involved in the first game of the season I suppose, I can see where people are coming from when they say that they were shocked to read the team, but everything's gone pretty well in training and I'm looking forward to it.

“I'm up to speed with the calls and the structures and everything, so I'm pretty much ready to play. I was probably looking at playing again next week or the week after anyway so it's no big change really for me to be on the bench this weekend.”