Tom Wright determined to send a message to Wallabies coach Eddie Jones

He could have sat around feeling sorry for himself after being dropped from the Wallabies squad. Or he could go out and prove Australian coach Eddie Jones had made a mistake.

In the end, it wasn't a tough choice to make. So Wright threw on the sky blue jersey and turned out for Wests in Saturday's John I Dent Cup clash with Uni-Norths.

"I was fit and healthy," Wright said. "It was a disappointing start to the week but the show must go on, the sun's going to rise.

"I'm not going to work on the things I need to work on, after chatting with Eddie, by sitting on my ass. It was good to put the boots on again, if you're fit and healthy I think you should be playing."

The fullback produced a performance you'd expect from a player with 25 Test caps.

Wright was busy at the back, threatening every time he touched the ball and a step quicker than most of his rivals.

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The 26-year-old played a key role in two crucial second half tries as the Lions survived a late scare to claim a tense 32-26 victory.

Wests looked to have the match wrapped up leading 32-12 with less than 10 minutes to go, however one Owls try quickly turned into two and suddenly the margin was six.

Skipper Declan Meredith had the chance to close the game out with a penalty goal attempt, but the ball had other ideas, hitting both posts before bouncing out. Uni-Norths then marched down into attacking field position and peppered the Lions' line.

Eventually they got over the line, but were held up in the final play of the game.

Wright was one of five Brumbies to feature in Saturday's clash. Meredith and Luke Reimer played for Wests, with Cadeyrn Neville and Charlie Cale turning out for Uni-Norths.

"It was awesome to hold on," Wright said. "It was a pretty funny finish. I don't think you can try and hit both posts if you wanted to.

"It was pleasing to win and that's what club footy is about. It's always fun, you shake hands and have a beer afterwards."

The Lions will benefit from Wright's presence for at least another week, however all parties hope the union comes to an end sooner rather than later.

The fullback has not given up hope of returning to the Wallabies after the Bledisloe Cup and revealed Jones urged him to keep working hard as he chases a World Cup berth.

Wright impressed for the Brumbies in his first full season at the back, however the transition to the Test arena has been more challenging. The 26-year-old struggled in Australia's losses to South Africa and Argentina and went from a starting position to out of the squad completely.

His versatility looms as a key positive and the ability to play both wing and fullback could work in his favour.

While his only outlet to prove he belongs in a gold jumper is through the Canberra club rugby competition, Wright is determined to send Jones a message.

"It was an honest [conversation with Jones]," Wright said. "You need to have a look at everyone in the country and outside backs are flat out at the best of times, guys are chomping at each other's heels.

"I didn't perform to the [level] I should have in the last game and we had an honest conversation around working on a couple of things. I'll just say fit and if he rings me again, he rings me again."

Saturday's victory secured Wests a place in the John I Dent Cup finals, while the Owls top-four hopes were extinguished.

Uni-Norths skipper Sam Mickelson was disappointed with the result, but is confident the future is bright.

"We've got plenty of talent, we've got a young team coming through and awesome coaches," he said.

"We'll just rip in for the next couple of weeks. We're going to put our heads down and focus on the next couple of games."

John I Dent Cup: Wests 32 bt Uni-Norths 26, Royals 29 bt Vikings 27, Queanbeyan 85 bt Penrith 12

Premier XVs: Uni-Norths 42 bt Wests 5, ViQueens 12 bt Royals 10

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