Stuart Confirmed at Bath

[NellyWellyWaspy]

Dai's track record in developing younger players is not good. The only one that I can think of that has had a fair crack is Josh. Must have been at Wasps for 6 years now. Initially in the academy, but now firmly on the teamsheet.

I would like to know how many he has lost and that are now cutting it at senior and international level.

From memory, Williams, Hepburn, Lozowski, Holmes, O'Connor......

Not good John? Abysmal I would say.

[Heathen]

OK Trevor. I understated the issue!!

[baldpaul101]

No disrespect to any poster but how, exactly do you, as a poster on a message board, know that a player is ready for 1st team action when their coach, his coaching team & the academy manager all think he's not?

Bear in mind, that coaching team will have seen him every day in training, will have seen him play in the games he's played in, be they 1st team, A team or on loan.

Its all very well saying, play them otherwise we'll never know if they are good enough, but, firstly, The coaching team should know if they are good enough or not & secondly, blooding youngsters is a really tricky thing to do. Play them too early & it can ruin their development, leave if too long & they may leave for game time.

Are Wasps getting to right? Not sure, but to say that Dai won't play youngsters is far too simplistic IMO.

[Raggs]

Most prem clubs seem to be forced into it, far more than they freely try it. Especially as the league grows tighter. In seasons past, you'd have a lot more freedom to throw the youngsters in against London Irish or Bristol, and be confident in 5 points, not so now.

In many ways I'd rather we loan them out, and get them playing games week in, week out, at a lower level, then bring them back into the club for a full season, when they can be a clear 2nd/3rd choice and likely to get solid gametime through basic rotation/light injury.