Ryan pleased with squad balance

Dean Ryan believes Warriors have a good mix of youth and experience after welcoming a number of seasoned internationals to the Club.

Wynand Olivier, Tevita Cavubati and Donncha O’Callaghan have all joined in recent weeks, with the trio boasting 146 Test caps between them.

And Ryan believes their expertise will be key to a successful Aviva Premiership campaign.

He said: “We always said we need some experience to give us more spine to the side.

“Donncha and Wynand are two outstanding signings and we’ve seen what Cavubati can do in Fiji’s Rugby World Cup games.

“We’re trying to grow this squad into the Aviva Premiership but we’re not naive enough to think we didn’t need one or two to come and help us out.”

Olivier made his debut against Wasps on Saturday after joining the Club last week and the Director of Rugby is pleased with how the Springbok international has slotted in.

He added: “Wynand looks really solid. He’s a class player and I knew he would be.

“He has great experience and doesn’t make mistakes.

“He knows what his job is and how to keep it simple. Everyone thinks the Premiership is about bells and whistles but it’s not.”

Warriors are next in action at Saracens in a Development Squad fixture this Saturday before they take on Northampton Saints behind closed doors at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday 9 October.

Ryan’s men will then kick-off the new Aviva Premiership season against Saints at Sixways on Friday 16 October (kick-off 7.45pm) and the Warriors Director of Rugby is hopeful his new signings will help the squad push on.

He continued: “Wynand came in last Monday and we’ve got a couple weeks of training left with Donncha and Tevita to come in which will give us a different dynamic.

“O’Callaghan will offer a lot of help to Darren Barry, Darren O’Shea and Christian Scotland-Williamson, while Olivier will boost a relatively young midfield.”


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