A trio of senior Ospreys took time out from training today to dish out tips to some of the up and coming youngsters at the region during special master-classes at the Llandarcy Academy of Sport.
Jamie Nutbrown, Nikki Walker and Richard Fussell attended training sessions with the Ospreys U16 and U18 squads, where they worked with the backs, dishing out specialist advice and helping the Eyasses to improve their skills.
Nutbrown passed on tips to scrum halves and back-rowers on passing the ball from the base of the scrum, while Walker and Fussell worked with the backs on fielding the high ball and counter attacking.
The sessions were the latest in a series that has seen senior players giving advice and assistance to the next crop of potential Ospreys as they look to follow in their footsteps, and are a perfect example of the region’s commitment to development from within.
Age Grade Development Manager, Steve Tandy, said that the youngsters and experienced players alike were enjoying the sessions:
“They’ve been fantastic for everybody involved. The young players in the U16 and U18 squad are really benefiting from these sessions, learning from the likes of Nikki, who is the region’s second highest try scorer ever, and Jamie Nutbrown, a junior All Black who won Super 12 with Crusaders.
“For these senior players, it’s a great opportunity for them to get valuable coaching experience of their own as well, so it’s something that has plusses for everybody involved.”
Elite Performance Director, Andrew Hore, commented:
“I’ve been watching with interest this initiative, which has seen our more experienced older players working closely with the youngsters who are on our elite development pathway, and what I’ve seen has been tremendous.
“Everybody within the organisation fully understands and appreciates that development from within is essential if we want to create long term, sustainable success for the Ospreys and this is an excellent example of how this works in a live environment. We are not just talking a good game, we are actually living true to our words.
“We have senior players investing their own time and effort to work with age-grade players, assisting with their development, while at the same time working on their own personal development by gaining experience that will help them on the coaching development pathway for later in their careers. It’s an all round win-win for the Ospreys.”