John extends Ospreys contract
The 24-year old is another product of the region's elite development pathway and he follows on from fellow graduates Tom Habberfield, Scott Otten and Adam Beard, who have all signed up in the last week, along with Alun Wyn Jones, one of the first to come through the regional system, who signed a new NDC last month.
"This is my home so I wanted to stay and progress my rugby here," said John. "I've sat down with the coaches and they've told me what they want to see from me over the next few years. There is competition for places in the group but as I've told the coaches, I'm happy playing anywhere, I just want to be out on the pitch in an Ospreys shirt as often as I can."
The former Ysgol Gyfun Gwyr pupil's early rugby days were spent at Loughor RFC. He then represented his home region at age-grade level before graduating to the Premiership with Aberavon, scoring eight tries in 60 appearances for the Wizards.
A Wales age-grade international, John made his Ospreys debut as an 18-year-old on the same day as Hanno Dirksen, in a 21-17 Anglo-Welsh Cup win over Leeds at the Liberty Stadium in February 2010.
His 50th appearance for the region came in this season's Boxing Day win over the Scarlets and to date he has played 54 times for the Ospreys at centre or wing, scoring eight tries. As a Level Two qualified coach, he combines playing with a fledgling coaching career, assisting with Ospreys Under-16s West having gained previous experience with the Swansea University Varsity team and his old club,
"Ben is another young man who has come through the development pathway at the region to represent his home region and it's great news that he is signed up for another two years," said Ospreys General Manager Andrew Millward.
"Over the last year to 15 months we've seen a real maturity in him in terms of his understanding of the game and his role on and off the field. Given that, it's no surprise that he has become increasingly effective in midfield, playing a major role in the run-in to the play-offs last season.
"The onus on him now is to continue working hard, continue developing and striving for excellence, to allow him to fully realise his potential. In a young squad, he is now in a position where he is not the up and coming prospect any more and that brings with it greater responsibility. How he responds to that will be key."
