Forwards Coach Sam Hobbs believes young Senior Academy duo Evan Minto and Nick Thomas have huge potential to keep developing at Dragons RFC after the Wales Under-20s aces agreed new deals.
The pair both made senior debuts for the Men of Gwent this season, appearing in the EPCR Challenge Cup victory at Newcastle Falcons in December.
Both players have also excelled on the international stage for Wales Under-20s with Minto starting all five games in the recent Under-20s Six Nations and Thomas facing France before injury ended his tournament.
Hobbs said: “Evan has enjoyed a breakthrough season and played a lot of rugby and stood out, be that for Dragons, Wales Under-20s or Hartpury in the English Championship and BUCs.
“He has another year for Wales Under-20s so hopefully he will go to the World Cup in the summer and continue his development.
“He is an exciting and powerful back row, a dynamic carrier, who is very much in the mould of Harrison Keddie and Aaron Wainwright.
“Evan is a player who I can certainly see becoming that hybrid eight or seven and is someone who has had a positive impact on our environment.
“He has trained well with the senior squad and we’re looking forward to him kicking on.
“Nick came back from the Under-20s World Cup last summer and enjoyed a really strong pre-season and played well during his time away with Newport RFC,” he added.
“He earned an opportunity with Dragons during the Christmas spell and went well and took his opportunity.
“He’s been very unfortunate to pick up an injury playing with Wales Under-20s, but hopefully he can be involved with the Under-20s World Cup this summer and continue to develop.
“Second rows tend to take longer to mature and come through than some other positions, and Nick still has some development ahead of him, but he is physically improving and can only learn from the likes of Matthew Screech and Ben Carter.
“Nick adds another level of depth and competition to our second row resources and so we’re excited to see his continued development in the seasons to come.”
He is an exciting and powerful back row, a dynamic carrier, who is very much in the mould of Harrison Keddie and Aaron Wainwright...
