Welsh prop extends Ospreys stay
The Ospreys announced on Monday that Welsh international loosehead prop Ryan Bevington has signed a new two-year contract, in the week where he made his 50th appearance for his home region.
The 23-year old Bevington reached the landmark against Glasgow in the Pro12 at the Liberty Stadium last Friday, and has committed to the Ospreys until at least 2014.
A strong scrummager who possesses rare pace for a front row forward, Bevington is a product of Porthcawl RFC, who captained the Ospreys at age-grade level before going on to play Premiership for Bridgend and Aberavon.
His senior Ospreys debut came at the end of the 2007/08 season away at Connacht, his solitary senior try coming against Newport Gwent Dragons in May 2010.
He was capped by Wales at all age-levels and played in two Junior World Championships, gaining his first senior international call-up for the 2011 Six Nations where he was an unused squad member. His first cap came against the Barbarians at the Millennium Stadium last June, and after featuring in the three August fixtures he travelled to New Zealand as part of Wales’ World Cup squad.
With two appearances in that competition, his seventh international cap came against Australia in November. Again, he is part of the current Wales squad for the Six Nations.
After signing his new contract, Bevington commented: “I’m delighted to be able to sign a new contract with the Ospreys. It’s a commitment that I’m really happy to make. I’ve been here since I was 15 and I’ve come right the way through the system so I want to give something back to the Ospreys. We’ve got a squad that has a lot of young players in it and it’s an exciting place to be.
“It’s a big two years for me personally. Hopefully I’m going to be able to get more game-time, that’s the first target for me, and then I want to help the Ospreys win some more silverware.
“So much has happened to me over the last 12 months and I’ve been fortunate enough to get some great experiences. With the contract signed I’m looking forward to hopefully challenging for a starting place and playing more for the Ospreys as I get more experience.”
Forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys welcomed the news of Bevington’s re-signing.
“Ryan is one of the brightest front-row prospects in rugby at the moment so it’s great news that after reaching international prominence he sees his future here with his home region. He has all the attributes to develop into a world-class prop if he continues working hard on and off the pitch,” Humphreys said.
“He’s represented himself and the Ospreys with distinction at every stage of his young career, but the next two years are very important to him as he looks to make the next step. I’m delighted that we’ve secured his services for those two years and have no doubt that he will continue to develop in this environment.”
With last Friday’s game seeing him reaching the half-century of Ospreys caps, Bevington is clearly under no illusions of the standards he needs to reach if he is to live up to those set by his Ospreys peers.
He said: “50 caps is something you think you’ll never achieve as a youngster starting off but here I am. You look at people like Paul James with over 170, Duncan and Adam Jones with more than 150, these are the players that you’ve got to look up to as a young prop and aspire to be like. I’ve got great respect for them and I’m fortunate to be working with them everyday. I want to try and achieve what they have with the Ospreys, and if I can do that, I’ll have a good career.”
