Dragons sign pair of young flyers (From South Wales Argus)

Dragons sign pair of young flyers

7:20am Tuesday 15th May 2012 in Dragons

RECORD BREAKER: Tom Prydie becomes Wales’ youngest try scorer with a touchdown against South Africa in 2010

NEWPORT Gwent Dragons have signed two Wales-capped young guns to bolster their back line for next season.

Full back/wing Tom Prydie, 20, joins from the Ospreys and full back Dan Evans, 23, also makes the move east from the Scarlets.

Their recruitment comes just a week after the Leinster game when the Dragons bade farewell to back three players Aled Brew and Martyn Thomas.

Both players have plenty of potential and are Wales caps, but have had limited opportunities.

Prydie has been on loan with London Wasps since January, making seven appearances for the Aviva Premiership side. He is a regular member of the Wales Sevens side and has already won four Wales caps. He became the youngest player to play for Wales when he faced Italy in the 2010 Six Nations aged 18 years and 25 days, and then became Wales’ youngest try-scorer when he touched down against South Africa three months later.

Prydie has recently been named in Danny Wilson’s Wales Under 20 squad for the Junior World Championships in South Africa this summer, alongside Dragons Jon Evans, Jack Dixon and Ieuan Jones.

He has signed from the Ospreys where he made his debut at the age of 17 years and 292 days. That came as a second-half replacement in their Heineken Cup match against Viadana in December 2009, an appearance that made him the youngest player in Heineken Cup history. On his move to Rodney Parade, he said: “I’m really looking forward to the new challenge that signing with the Dragons presents.

“I’ve worked with Darren (coach Darren Edwards) before and felt I learned a lot from the time I spent with him. I really enjoyed the experience so am looking forward to getting involved in a new environment down at the Dragons next season.

“This season has felt a bit stop start, particularly at the beginning, so it will be great to have a fresh start and a bit of consistency. “There is a lot of potential at the Dragons and hopefully we can be very competitive next season.”

Evans rose through the ranks at the Scarlets and has been a feature in the squad over the past three seasons. He made 14 appearances for the region this season, including home and away games against the Dragons. He won two caps on Wales’ 2009 North America tour, making his debut in the 32-23 win over Canada, but has been overlooked since.

On his move to the Dragons, he said: “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s exciting to be joining a squad with the amount of young talent that the Dragons have at the moment. I’m eager to press for some more game time and hopefully help push for a successful season.”

Dragons director of rugby Robert Beale was delighted with the signings, saying: “I’m obviously really happy that both of these young players have decided to join us here at the Dragons. “They both show a lot of promise and I am looking forward to working with them over the coming seasons.”