Uncapped Welsh youngster Rio Dyer has been told he could be a superstar.
The prediction came from his Dragons boss Dean Ryan before Dyer’s man-of-the-match display against the Ospreys at Rodney Parade.
Dyer didn’t know he was playing for definite until the morning of the game, with Ashton Hewitt pulling out of the original selection.
But a pep talk from Ryan put him in the mood and he went out and produced an outstanding performance crowned by a try.
Ryan said on Premier Sports afterwards: “I said to him today: ‘I have a feeling you’re going to be a superstar’.
“‘I can see two or three tries in you every time you get near the ball’.
“We’ve known for a long time how good he is on the ball and how quick he is.
“We also recognise he’s a young man, and sometimes we have to do the right thing in developing young men, and exposing them was right today.”
“That said, he has lots of things to work on and keep moving.”
It was excellent man-management from Ryan, making a young player feel good about himself before a big game.
Wales U20s man Dyer had only made five senior Dragons appearances before this weekend, all of them in 2017-18.
But he is known in age-grade rugby for having gas and he showed it against the Ospreys with 12 runs that yielded 93 metres, with two clean breaks and eight defenders beaten. It wasn't just about raw speed, either. Dyer is a sinuous runner who used deception and swerve to take himself clear of would-be tacklers.
Yet he was uncertain about whether he would be playing until not long before kick off.
Asked when Dyer received to nod to figure against the Ospreys, Ryan said: “He sort of knew he was going to be in the starting XV today.
“He was training for Ashton across the week, but he wasn’t sure.”
Ryan felt the Dragons didn’t actually play as well as they have been playing in coming from behind to beat the Ospreys 25-18 in Newport, but he was still delighted with the victory, their second of the derby season after a success over the Scarlets.
“We’re all right, we’re going,” he said.
“We have some young lads who keep taking their chance. That’s what I’m trying to make it about here. If someone is injured, someone else comes in to take his chance.”
