Scarlets secured a victory over reigning champions Glasgow on Saturday in the opening round of the Guinness PRO12 campaign with a third of the starting XV under the age of 25.
With seven of the region’s players away on international duty a number of the region’s bright young talent are having an opportunity to step up to the regional stage and stake a claim for the historic jersey.
One of the young guns in the starting XV, who made a huge impact in the victory over Glasgow, was 24-year-old flanker James Davies. After picking up his Promising Young Player of the Year award last week at the Welsh Rugby Writers Annual Dinner he put in a sterling performance on Saturday and was voted man of the match by Glasgow’s players.
Speaking after the game his back row partner John Barclay, named Sky Sports’ Man of the Match, said: “Cubby was awesome last year. Especially when you play on a hard track and the ball’s dry you get away with playing two opensides, I guess it brings a faster game and a bit more damage at the breakdown.”
Amongst the group of young players who were given an opportunity to shine on Saturday was 19-year-old Dan Jones who made his competitive debut for the region and the Scottish international was impressed by the teenager’s steely composure. Barclay went on to say: “We’ve been young since I’ve been with Scarlets, similar to Glasgow a couple of years ago. We’ve got to learn and try the group together.
“Some of the young guys like Dinky (Dan Jones) and Steff Evs come in and just play – they’re not phased by who they play against or where they’re playing they just play. It’s quite refreshing for someone who’s been around a bit. It just shows you that you don’t have to have all the experience and knowledge you can just play off these guys. The truth is I’m learning a lot off the new guys and it’s really fun to play with them.”
Scarlets take on Ulster at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday in the first home game of the season, kick-off 3pm.
Tickets are on sale now from tickets.scarlets.co.uk or by calling 0871 871 8088.
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