Danny Wilson believs the opportunities handed to some of the region's most promising youngsters this season is a positive for the future, but insists they must be managed carefully in order to fulfil their potential.
A series of injury problems within the squad has seen the likes of Rhun Williams, Corey Domachowski, Keiron Assiratti and Seb Davies handed significant game time in high-profile fixtures over the course of the season.
Wilson also emphasised the importance of developing players through the Cardiff Blues pathway, as an alternative way of competing against wealthy European teams in the future.
“This year has seen opportunity for the likes of Rhun Williams, Corey Domachowski, Keiron Assiratti - these types of players that, at 19 or 20 years old, are still very young in their careers,” said Wilson.
“Sometimes the opportunities comes through injury, but it’s also about making sure, if appropriate, that the players get the opportunities at the correct time. We don’t want to rush too many youngsters onto the field too early, because bad experiences can lead to set-backs.
“It’s great to see those guys on the field and they will get some more opportunities. At Cardiff Blues we want to, and need to, produce players from within our system to play for our region.
“Real depth costs huge amounts of money, and we’re very reliant on what comes through the region, along with getting our recruitment right where and when we can.
“It is pleasing, and there are many other young Cardiff Blues players who will get exposure and hopefully go on to do bigger and better things for Cardiff Blues.
“There are exciting times ahead, but we are reliant on getting that right. We don’t have the budget to rely on foreign stars, so we have to produce from within and I think we are doing that and it’s credit to our academy system that we had more players in the Wales U20’s set-up this year than any other region.
“Now it’s about, when they get first team exposure, us giving them the best service possible to hopefully give ourselves the best chance to get them through.”
Props Assiratti and Domachowski have featured heavily for Danny Wilson's over the past month, packing down against experienced international front-row players such as John Afoa, Michael Bent and Rodney Ah You in recent weeks. Assiratti was also a key part of Wales U20's side during the Six Nations earlier in the year.
Wilson, a coach who specialises in working with forwards, has been impressed with the front row duo when they’ve been called upon.
“With Corey and Keiron, two props, they’re in the most difficult position to be inexperienced and young, but have played huge matches including Leinster, Gloucester and Ulster recently.
“Some props maybe wouldn’t break through until 23, 24 or maybe older, and one of our props is on the complete other end of the scale and still playing very well.
“Props certainly mature and come through a little bit later, so to get the experiences now is fantastic for them, but again it’s about making sure it’s at the right time with the right balance.
“We’ve seen it with other props, the likes of Samson Lee, who have come through from playing under 20’s rugby and go very quickly into senior rugby.”
Wilson also spoke highly of young half backs Dane Blacker and Ben Jones, who recently featured for Pontypridd in the Welsh Cup final against RGC.
Both Blacker and Jones were also key players in Wales Under 20’s Six Nations campaign this year, where the Blues had more representatives than any other region.
Wilson, who worked with Welsh internationals such as Ellis Jenkins, Sam Davies, Hallam Amos and Samson Lee during his time as Wales U20’s head coach, believes the upcoming World Cup in Georgia will hand youngsters further invaluable experience in their development.
“There are a number of good players coming through. The two half backs, Dane and Ben, for Wales Under 20’s and Pontypridd in the final recently - it’s fantastic to see them on that stage and they’ll come into the senior environment a bit more next season, as opposed to being pretty much academy only this year.
“They’ve started to train with us towards the tail-end of the year. They both played in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, which is very tough in terms of results and the opposition we play, but it’s good experience for those youngsters to be on the field without huge expectation. Sometimes, those experiences give them a platform to build on.
“It’s great to see so many Cardiff Blues players in that international age band. The World Cup is a great experience, where you get to go up against southern hemisphere players of the similar age profile.
“If you can pick up wins against those type of teams, it’s great experience to be able to say we can beat New Zealand or Australia or whoever at that age group.
“It’s very good platform for these players but I would also say the step from Under 20’s rugby to regional is a huge one and probably where we need to be better, as a region, is to bridging the gap from boys coming through from Under 20’s rugby into regional selection.”