Ryan praises youngsters after pre-season campaign

Dean Ryan has heaped praise on Warriors’ young-guns after a string of eye-catching pre-season performances from the next generation of Sixways stars.

Academy players Max Stelling, Ben Howard and Nick Seymour have all been in fine form during pre-season and have impressed Director of Rugby Ryan with their performances.

The trio have featured heavily, with Howard notching two tries against Rotherham Titans in Ryan’s first match in charge.

And, according to the Warriors boss, young players need exposure if they are going to break their way into the first-team.

He said: “I’ve been really pleased by what I’ve seen. We’ve had youngsters playing in all the games and some of those involved hadn’t been in that sort of environment before.

“To play against two Heineken Cup sides and come through like they did is a great indicator for further down the line because those lads are going to play for us.

“Players understand that if they come into this side, that’s the level they have to play at. We’ve got some good youngsters. Max was involved against Ospreys and that’s a tough place to play.”

Warriors begin their Aviva Premiership campaign when they visit Leicester Tigers on Sunday 8 September.

And Ryan admits he’s happy with the progress his squad have made during the last ten weeks of pre-season training.

He added: “I’m pretty happy. We’ve had 13 new players arrive and we’ve got a completely new coaching set-up.

“We’re looking at the long-term and we’re looking at building towards the long-term. Everyone has had game time. Pre-season has been our first chance to do improve as a side and I’m pretty pleased.” 


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