Lewis Moody insists this season's LV= Cup has already discovered international stars of tomorrow as he prepares to watch Harlequins and Bath, plus Sale and Saracens go head-to-head in this weekend's semi-finals.
A host of youngsters have been nominated for the LV= Breakthrough Player award - won last year by Gloucester wing Jonny May - and Moody believes many are now knocking on the door for permanent Premiership or RaboDirect PRO12 inclusion.
Bath fly-half Tom Heathcote, who has already been capped by Andy Robinson for Scotland, has particularly caught Moody's eye, while the performances of London Irish wing Marland Yarde and young Harlequin Luke Wallace have also not gone unnoticed by the former Leicester and Bath flanker.
Heathcote has now leapfrogged World Cup winner Stephen Donald as the premier No.10 at Bath in Moody's eyes and he predicts it won't be long until others - Yarde and Wallace in particular will be automatic picks for their club sides.
Others nominated for the award are Exeter's Jack Nowell, Ospreys Morgan Allen and Sam Lewis, Saracen Ben Spencer, Sale Shark Tommy Taylor, Harlequin Joe Trayfoot and Northampton Saint Jamie Elliott.
And Moody is convinced club bosses across the land will only benefit from the exposure their youngsters are getting in a senior competition.
"Tom Heathcote is a good example of how this competition can help develop a youngster," said Moody. "He has had a very interesting 18 months, he won his first cap for Scotland under Andy Robinson, he's now pushing Stephen Donald at Bath - in fact his performances probably dictate he has now overtaken him.
"I think Tom Heathcote is 100 per cent capable of being the number one fly-half at Bath now going forward.
"He's only 21, he has had his fair share of injuries but he has fought back. He is a diminutive guy but he trains hard, plays well and he's taking his chance in the absence of Stephen to injury.
"He's so consistent and the great thing about Tom is a fly-half main job is kicking goals and up until the weekend he had 22 consecutive kicks.
"Yarde and Wallace have also really jumped out at me, they've taken their chances and they're now either first team starters or certainly putting pressure on the senior guys in front of them.
"Jonny May is an example of a player now turning out regularly in the Aviva Premiership and scoring tries that has made a name for him in this competition.
"The LV= Cup allows clubs to try out their youngsters, give them an opportunity and allows teams to see what they're like under pressure in a big-match situation.
"The award allows the young guys to be recognised for their performances in the competition and to gain some exposure, which only can help them at their club and in their careers.
"I think the fact that the clubs and the fans have games to watch while the Six Nations is on, see their young stars come through is only a good thing."
Harlequins boss Conor O'Shea has already stated he will stick with a youthful side for his side's LV= Cup semi-final with Bath at the weekend, which is a similar stance taken by last year's winners Leicester.
And Moody thinks the policy is spot on and applauded the bold stance taken by O'Shea.
"I love the fact these youngsters nominated for the LV= Cup Breakthrough award are pushing the senior guys for their places in the Aviva Premiership and also in Europe," added Moody.
"They're setting the standards and if clubs do have international players away, there's no guarantee they'll walk straight back in.
"At Leicester if you were away on international duty and a youngster did very well in your absence, we were made fully aware you wouldn't walk straight back into the side and I think it's great that Conor O'Shea is adopting a similar policy this season.
"It allows clubs to try out players that coaches know are good but they're simply not getting the starts because there are international names ahead of them.
"It gives them the opportunity to play, put their hands up and say I want this shirt going forward - I'm now ready.
"I think it's a great competition and I completely disagree with those who think we shouldn't be playing club rugby during the Six Nations.
"It's not even just beneficial for the younger guys, it also allows older squad members who are out of favour to stake their claim, get some game-time and get amongst the headlines.
"It also means towards the end of the season when there's injuries, squads are more competitive and everybody has had some game-time."
To vote for your LV=Breakthrough Player and for LV=Cup tickets and info go to www.LV.com/rugby
Comments
kybone says...
Its great that we're unearthing new players but i just don't like the LV as a competition. It's substandard by its very nature, and in recent years the Welsh teams have had less and less of an impact on the thing. I've always been in favour of scrapping this and going back to the proper English national cup. The only drawback being that we might not see the same number of young players come through. Having said that, we may find that we unearth players in the lower leagues that put in a great display against higher level opposition, that might not otherwise have been discovered. The Tetleys Bitter Cup was scrapped because the Prem there were hardly any upsets, but that was at a time when lower level rugby was semi-pro or even amatuer in some cases. All Championship clubs and even some league 1 clubs are pro now, and the teams are semi-pro right down to league 2, so i think the Championship clubs in particular would have a good crack at most Prem clubs. I also think it would benefit the Championship as a league, and therefore the would improve the quality of the clubs being promoted to the Prem further still. As things stand we have the completely dreadful and pointless British and Irish Cup to put up with in the Championship, Whilst Championship clubs don't win all their games in the B and I Cup the top 5 or 6 do win most, and thats with most Championship teams routinely fielding largely second string sides.
I just think that if the RFU are serious about creating a strong and vibrant second pro league in this country the next logical step is for the Championship clubs to play alongside the Prem clubs, be it in the current LV Cup or by reverting back to the traditional English Cup.
Posted 18:32 08th March 2013
APV1 says...
@ melkdave - they're the future of both club AND country.
ALLEZ!
Posted 17:28 08th March 2013
melkdave says...
Have to agree its good we have a major competion,in which clubs can test their young talant.These players are after all the future of the said clubs.
Posted 23:48 07th March 2013