The Ospreys are delighted to confirm that young winger Kristian Phillips has signed a new two-year contract that will keep him at the Liberty Stadium until the end of the 2012/13 season.
20-year Phillips, a product of Tonmawr RFC’s strong youth set-up, signed his first Ospreys Academy contract in January 2007, and has already gained Magners League and LV= Cup experience for the region. He set the record for the youngest ever player to start a Magners League match, aged 17 years and 250 days, when he faced Connacht for the Ospreys in May 2008, a game in which he also became the youngest ever Magners League try scorer, with both records still standing.
In total, he has made 13 appearances in an Ospreys shirt to date, eleven of them starts, showing his eye for an opportunity with four tries to his name already. Capped by Wales at age-grade level, he has also experienced the senior international environment having been included in an extended squad for the 2010 Six Nations.
Speaking after putting pen to paper on his new deal, Phillips said:
“It’s great news for me, I’m really pleased that I’m going to be able to continue my rugby development here for the next two years. It’s a commitment from me to my home region, and it’s good to see the commitment from the Ospreys coaches who are putting their faith in me to continue improving.
“It’s been brilliant to get a run of games in the LV= Cup over the last few months. It’s a chance for us youngsters to step up to the mark and I think we certainly did that as a group. It was unfortunate that we had 14 points but didn’t go through, but like the rest of the group I’ll be able to take confidence from that involvement and what we achieved. There’s a few Magners games now where the bulk of the squad is away on international duties and it’s up to us to put the team in a good position to approach the end of the season.
“It’s my third full season in this set-up and things have been going really well for me. I’ve got another two years here and I’ll still only be 22 by then, and hopefully, I’ll be really pushing to get in that wingers jersey.”
Ospreys Head Coach, Sean Holley, commented:
“It’s good news for Kristian and for the Ospreys that he’s renewed. He’s a product of the region, and a prodigious youngster who has unfortunately suffered with injury during his short career so far, but he has put that behind him and fronted up to the challenge of developing himself as an Osprey.
“His attitude and his performances in both the Premiership and the LV= Cup this year have warranted a new two-year deal. He has real pace and a wicked sidestep, as well as an eye for the try-line, and he has a good scoring record for every team he has represented. He is continuing to develop his all-round game by working extremely hard. After some personal setbacks he is beginning to mature and we expect him to continue showing a positive attitude and continue to grow as a player over the next two years.”