Ashley Beck will join the 100 club this Sunday when he becomes the 23rd player to achieve the landmark of a century of appearances for the Ospreys.
A product of the region’s player development pathway, 24-year old Beck was born and bred in Ospreylia and enjoyed his early rugby with Skewen and then Tonmawr. Having played for the Ospreys at regional age-grade level, Beck also gained considerable experience with Aberavon in the Principality Premiership on his way to establishing himself with his home region.
His Ospreys debut came in November 2007 when he was a second half replacement against Leinster at the Liberty Stadium aged just 17 years and 222 days, becoming the youngest ever player to represent the region in a competitive fixture, a record which still stands today.
It was the 2010/11 season when he firmly established himself in the Ospreys midfield and, with 21 tries to his credit to date, he stands seventh in the region’s all-time try scorer list ahead of any of his current team-mates.
Capped by Wales at all age-grade levels, he made his senior debut on the summer 2012 tour of Australia, playing in all three tests and starting in the second and third. He has worn the Welsh shirt on seven occasions in total and has scored two tries.
Speaking ahead of his 100th cap, Beck said:
“It’s a real honour just to be able to wear an Ospreys jersey just the once, so to be talking about my 100th cap this weekend is unbelievable really. It’s not something I could have predicted when I made my debut all those years ago.
“I’ve taken my time to get there, I was talking about it with some of the boys in the week, there’s been a few injuries along the way, but that just makes it all the sweeter to get there on Sunday. To get to the century in a home game at the Liberty Stadium, in a Welsh derby, makes it all the better and I’m really looking forward to the game.
“This is my home region, I’ve been an Osprey since I was 15, and it’s the only place I want to play my rugby, so hopefully there are a lot more appearances to come. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, particularly with the way this young group is developing.
Rugby General Manager, Andrew Millward, added:
“Ashley is another player who has come though our system, becoming an established Osprey and an important part of the senior squad, so it is fantastic to see him joining what is still a pretty exclusive list of players to have completed a century of appearances for the region.
“After bursting on the scene as a teenager he has worked hard to improve his all-round game, and we’ve seen him grow from a promising youngster into an Ospreys regular and an international player. He’s been around for a long time so it’s easy to forget that he is still such a young man, and getting to 100 appearances at his age is a considerable achievement.
“He is in some pretty good company high up on the try scoring list and is a quality finisher, but if he continues to strive for excellence, always looking to improve his personal game, there’s no reason he can’t go onto to even greater things as an Osprey, helping the team to long-term success in the seasons ahead.”