Swansea District will face a 'Best of the Rest' XV at various age grades later this month as part of the ongoing commitment to identifying and developing the best young talent in Ospreylia.
The fixtures, which will see U12, U13 and U14 sides playing at the Elba Sports Complex in Gowerton, will allow youngsters who have not yet featured at District level to catch the eye and show that they have the ability to compete at that level.
Clubs and schools in the Swansea District are able to recommend players that the talent ID team may otherwise have missed, and that they feel may have the ability to step up to District level.
WRU/Ospreys Regional Community Manager Ben Rose said that it was important that the development pathway remains open to all young rugby players in the region:
“These Best of the Rest fixtures are a very important part of our pathway as they allow us to see as many players at each grade as possible. Clearly, decisions are made regards the selection of the District squad ahead of each new season but that doesn’t mean that players who don’t make the cut are then forgotten about.
“Players develop at different rates, there may be injuries, or even in many cases at this age, new players taking up the game that we may not be aware of, as well as players at schools who aren’t part of the club network and it’s important that the development pathway is open to all of these. If anyone catches the eye then there is a possibility that they can be brought into our squad.
“We are committed to developing the best local young talent, and will continue to encourage as many youngsters as possible to play the game in order to keep the playing base as broad as possible, helping to increase the strength in depth at all levels of the game in the region.”
The game will take place on Tuesday 21stDecember at the following times:
U12s - 10am
U13s - 12noon
U14s - 2pm