Young Gun: Sam Davies – Ospreys fly-half

He's the IRB Junior Player of the Year but Sam Davies is yet to make a league start for the Ospreys. So patience remains a virtue as he bids to graduate into the Wales No.10 jersey.
Davies had a summer to savour, playing a key role in Wales U20s run to the Junior World Championship final in France, where they eventually fell 23-15 to England.
The tournament's second-highest points scorer, his last minute semi-final conversion knocked out reigning champions South Africa to help set up the home nations showdown.
Those performances saw him collect his prestigious award – the first Welshman to achieve any IRB age-grade honour since Gavin Henson received the same accolade – then known as the Young Player of the Year – in 2001.
Despite being a key man over the summer, the 20-year-old fly-half has had to bide his time with Ospreys this season, with Wales' Dan Biggar filling the No.10 shirt and former Wales U20 man Matthew Morgan waiting in the wings.
Davies, who only made his Ospreys bow in the Pro12 off the bench three weeks ago, accepts he may have a long battle on his hands but knows he has two ideal mentors to learn from.
“After the summer with Wales, it's hard not getting as much playing time as I would have liked,” he said, “but it's about being patient and respecting those players in front of me.
“In the long term I just want to focus on getting game time and coming through and getting my place when the time is right. It could well be a long time for me so I have to be patient.
“Dan has been very good with advice. We have a kicking session competition and it always keeps us working hard. It's good to have someone in front of me who is still relatively young but doing really well and give me good feedback.”
The son of Nigel Davies – former Wales centre and captain, now director of rugby at Gloucester – Davies junior always had rugby in his blood, despite also showing an interest for football. But, handed the option of going to Scarlets, strongly associated with his father's playing career, he opted to forge his own name at Ospreys.
Having grown up in the region, it was an easy choice and, despite not being first choice at present, he intends to stick around.
“I've grown up here so it's nice to stay in the area” he said. “I love living here, it's where I want to stay and see what happens. I just have to get my head down. I've been reassured by the coaches that my time will come, I've accepted that and, when the time comes, it's about taking my chance.”
Although opportunities appear at a premium, Davies made his first start of the season in last weekend's LV= Cup first round. With Biggar away on international duty, Davies kicked three penalties in the defeat by Leicester Tigers.
With competition for places strong, he knows the LV= represents a great chance to further his claims for a regular place. “The league is our priority, but the LV offers youngsters on the fringes a chance to put their hands up,” he added.