A month devoid of fixtures for the Cardiff Blues comes to an end this week as the squad visit the most northerly part of the region to host a development day for the schools of Brecon and South Powys.
The entire squad, minus the injured players and those on International duty will be running coaching sessions for the eight secondary schools that make up the region.
Also at the session will be Blues Director of Coaching David Young and his coaching team. As mentioned earlier in the month the team and coaches have been out helping to develop the young talent in the region during a month that has proved quiet for the Blues what with it being Six Nations season and the Blues Celtic League bye weekend.
However, a lack of matches has not meant a lack of work for the boys as they have been training hard and improving their coaching skills with the young players from schools right across.
Cardiff Blues Community and Coach Development Manager Richard Hodges commented, We knew at the start of the season that February was going to be a huge month for development in the Cardiff Blues region and so weve been planning for a while.
We realised that the team had a fixture free month and even though they would have training, they could be of great use in helping the Blues Development Officers with their work in the region.
On reflection, I think most would agree that it has been a huge success as the young players have enjoyed every moment of their coaching with the Blues squad and will all have taken something from the sessions.
What has also been encouraging is the fact that nearly one hundred secondary schools in the Blues region will have been involved with the Blues squad coaching which, is a great achievement for rugby development.
After todays coaching session in Brecon, David Young and his blues squad will turn their attention to their crunch Celtic League showdown with Munster at Cardiff Arms Park a week Saturday. The match is crucial for both teams as the Blues look to secure a spot in next seasons Heineken Cup and Munster try to close the gap between them and the Ospreys who are flying high at the top of the Celtic League table.