Ryan delighted by Academy stars’ commitment

Director of Rugby Dean Ryan is delighted that youngsters Max Stelling and Ben Howard have penned new deals to stay at Warriors.

They are the latest players to sign new contracts after Chris Pennell and Alex Grove committed their future to the club last month.

And Ryan insists it is a big statement for Warriors as they look to reach their goal of challenging in the higher echelons of the Aviva Premiership in the near future.

He said: “It is great news for the club. We’ve always said capturing the talent that comes through is an important statement and they are two of the top emerging players from the group.

“It’s important that if we are going to use that home-grown talent, we must ensure they feel confident and can fulfil their ambitions here.”

Stelling has already featured seven times for Warriors this season, including an Aviva Premiership debut against Northampton Saints.

And Ryan admits the 19-year-old centre is an exciting prospect for the future.

He added: “Max is quite new to the first-team environment this year. He is an exciting talent because he is so young and physically he is more developed than most at his age.

“He has a lot to learn but the more we expose him the better the player he will become.”

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Howard has played five times for the first-team this season, and along with Stelling, is expected to feature in the Amlin Challenge Cup against Sale Sharks this Friday night.

And although Chris Pennell has been in fantastic form, Ryan believes Howard could fill the void in the Aviva Premiership should the full-back be unavailable.

He continued: “Ben is starting to grow and is becoming more and more confident with the more game time he gets.

“He shows more and more composure and he is great under the high ball. The key for him is just maturing and growing in confidence about his own ability.

“Ben has taken opportunities in difficult circumstances in the Amlin and I have every confidence that if Chris gets an injury, Ben would be ready to take his chance in the Premiership.”


SIGN UP TO THE WARRIORS WEEKLY NEWSLETTER