Aberavon coach Simon King is going to stick with his plan of investing in home spun youngsters as he tries to steer his side into the knock-out stages of the British & Irish Cup.
An opening day victory over arch-rivals Llanelli at Parc y Scarlets was achieved with seven Ospreys Academy players and 20 players out of the 22 who are from the Aberavon catchment areas.
“It was a great experience going down to Llanelli to play in a different tournament. There was a real edge to it and I believe that moving forward the British & Irish Cup is going to be a very good competition,” said King, who also coaches Wales Under 18.
“It was a real arm wrestle and the boot of Matthew Jarvis proved the difference as he kicked four penalties and a conversion in the 19-16 victory. I was really pleased with the way the youngsters stood up on the night.
“I truly believe that if the Regional Academies embrace this tournament then it will prove to be a great way for younger players to progress. It offers them a higher level of competition than they are used to in our Premiership and can help to move their game forward.
“We’ve got London Welsh next and that is going to be a great experience for us all. We’ve played them in pre-season friendlies in recent seasons, but this time it will be for real.
“They, like so many of the other teams in this tournament, are fully professional and that is going to give the players a marker by which to assess themselves.”
