Have to admit I didn’t see this one coming. Barry Davies, formerly of the Llanelli Scarlets and more recently Brive, is again going to be competing with Lee Byrne for the full back slot. Only this time it will be for the Ospreys, not the Scarlets.

An intersting signing. I can certainly see the point of it. Barry Davies is a good squad player, as well as being a Welsh rugby player, so not taking up a ‘foreign slot’. I haven’t seen much of him at Brive but when he was at the Scarlets he certainly looked the business. Good tackle, good eye for the gap and a good boot. Not in Byrnes class but certainly someone you are happy to have in your side.

So from that point of view it is a good signing. With Lee Byrne having so many international commitments, and the Ospreys recognizing the problems if he were to get injured – as he did at the end of last season, leaving the likes of Jonny Vaughton to play there – it makes sense.

There is some questioning amoingst the fans as to what exactly this means for Gareth Owen. He is an exciting young prospect who had been playing most of his Ospreys game time at 15. It is certainly a worry, but from my point of view I hope that it is something that will lead him to seek pastures new.

I think Gareth Owen is a huge talent, one of the most exciting in Welsh rugby, but as a 10, not a 12 or 15 which is where the Ospreys seem to want him. With James Hook and Dan Biggar ahead of him at the Ospreys, as well as Henson and Bishop at 12 and now Byrne and Davies at 15, Owen should seek out somewhere where he can look at breaking into the first XV as an outside half.

I personally rate him higher than Dan Biggar, as I believe him to have a far more allround game, as well as not being an open door defensively, an accusation easily made at Dan Biggar recently.

But a good signing from the ospreys I think, a good Welsh player to have as a back up.

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