Blues get Celtic Cup campaign underway

CARDIFF Blues A begin their Celtic Cup campaign today when they host last season’s winners Leinster A at Cardiff Arms Park (2.30pm).

“The Celtic Cup has become a really important stepping stone for us and proved invaluable last year in terms of development and linking the young guys in the academy alongside senior professionals,” said Cardiff Blues Academy Manager Gruff Rees.

“It allows us to align our rugby philosophy throughout the academy and to the senior squad. You only have to look at the likes of Shane Lewis-Hughes, Kieron Assiratti, Alun Lawrence and Harri Millard to see how the competition can be used as a springboard.

“It’s also really good for the development of coaches who have the chance to replicate the routines of the professional game. These guys have done it as players, but to lead a programme over a sustained period is really beneficial for them.

“Being able to work with our semi-professional clubs to give some of their players opportunities in the competition is also a really exciting proposition.”

Scarlets A – who were beaten by Leinster in last year’s final – host Ulster A at Llandovery’s Church Bank (2.30pm).

Scarlets A head coach Richard Kelly said: “We enjoyed the tournament last season, coming up just short in the final at Parc y Scarlets against a strong Leinster side, but more importantly, we saw the likes of Dan Davis, Josh Helps and Kieran Hardy go on and play key roles for the Scarlets’ senior team.

“Hopefully we will see a similar progression from more of our developing talent this season. There’s a lot of talent in our region and the Celtic Cup will allow us to see how these players react in a professional environment and at a reasonably high level.”

■ See tomorrow’s Wales on Sunday for a round-up of the weekend’s Celtic Cup games.