The Ospreys have handed 18-year old prospect Sam Davies a three-year development contract.
The latest product of the region’s player development pathway, the young fly-half has been rewarded for the form he has shown within the regional age-grade set-up and, this season, for Swansea RFC in the Principality Premiership, scoring 77 points in eight games for the All Whites.
Still a pupil at Gowerton Comprehensive School where he is currently doing his A-Levels, Sam is a Wales age-grade cap. Although he is yet to represent the Ospreys at senior level, he was the surprise inclusion in this year’s Heineken Cup squad, the youngest player registered for the competition by any of the 24 teams involved this season.
Speaking after signing his first contract with his home region, he said:
“I’m really pleased to have been given this chance and to join the cause. I’ve been working hard towards it, so it’s great news that I’ve got a three-year contract. There’s even more hard work to be done if I’m going to establish myself, but I’m looking forward to developing as a player with the region and hopefully establishing myself properly.
“With players like Matthew Morgan and Dan Biggar at the Ospreys who are both still very young I know competition will be tough but if I continue to work hard then hopefully in a couple of years I can push through and challenge them for the number 10 spot.
“I’ve really enjoyed playing for Swansea this season. It’s good experience for me, to be part of a young team that is looking to improve and I want to learn from every game I play.
“I travelled to Geneva in the summer for the game against Lyon and that was a brilliant experience of the professional set-up. Just to be a part of that was really encouraging and gives me confidence in what I want to achieve here.
“My first ambition is to hopefully get some game time for the Ospreys, to move up within the squad, and then to maybe establish myself. It’s hard work combining school and rugby but that just means I’ve got to put extra work in and be organised. If I work hard hopefully I’ll get my reward in the long-term.”
Ospreys Chief Operations Officer, Andrew Hore, congratulated Sam on earning his first contract, saying:
“He is a young man making his first steps into the world of professional rugby, and we are delighted to be able to recognise his potential and the hard work he has put in so far to reach this stage.
“We pride ourselves on our player development pathway, which is unrivalled in terms of the number of local players we bring through to not only represent the region, but also, the national team. We have the highest representation of Welsh internationals since regionalisation so he’s in the right place for his long-term development.
“Sam is the latest player from our system to be rewarded with a development contract as we see in him the potential to go on and wear the black shirt of his home region. He still has a long way to go to fulfil that dream, but as our development track record shows, he is in the right environment to do that as long as he continues to work hard and give his all for the cause.”