The talented teenager – he is still only 17 – is one of the first this season to make the step up from U18 rugby to the senior game and will have the full backing of his Sir Gar head coach, Euros Evans, who also doubles as the head coach for the Drovers.
After an early season wobble that saw them lose three of their first five games, last season’s Indigo Premiership and Premiership Cup double winners steadied the ship last week with victory in Newport. That took away the home side’s unbeaten record.
Now they will be aiming for their first win at home this season on their new 3G pitch. When they entertained Ebbw Vale two weeks ago in the grand opening match, they fell to back-to-back defeats to the Steelmen and lost the new SRC Challenge Shield into the bargain.
Swansea will travel seeking their first win of a frustrating campaign in which they have been highly competitive yet have failed to deliver in the end. To add to their woes, they have lost Ben Roberts and Sam Pailor to long term injuries and have had a number of their academy stars called up for regional duty.
“We’ve had a difficult start, but I feel we’ve entered into the spirit of the new tournament by picking a lot of youngsters. They have had to learn quickly, and it is now down to cutting out errors in our game,” said Swansea head coach Hugh Gustafson.
“The whole point of the SRC is to try to fast-track the younger players so they become better players and better options for the regional coaches. It has definitely been more intense and competitive this season, although some clubs have gone back to their tried and trusted older players when the going gets tough.
“For us it is all about putting minutes into these youngsters to give them the chance to grow and develop. The more they play, the more trust the regional coaches will be able to place in them.”
The odds will certainly be stacked against Gustafson’s side with the Drovers being boosted by the inclusion of four Scarlets players in their starting XV – Ellis Mee, Ed Scragg, Morgan Jones and Gabriel Hawley – as well as rising academy star Kossuth on the bench.
Llandovery: Ellis Mee; Toby Baldwin, Ilan Hazzelby-Phillips, Rhodri Jones, Aaron Warren; Ioan Hughes, Lee Rees (captain); Dino Dalavalle, Finn Thomas, Gabriel Hawley, Morgan Jones, Ed Scragg, Osian Davies, Stuart Worrall, Evan Sheldon
Reps: Iestyn Thomas, Jamie Hughes, Berian Watkins, Chris Long, Dom Kossuth, Adam Warren, Jack Maynard, Harri MorganSwansea: TBC
