Ambitious Wales Under-20 star Dafydd Buckland is ready to leave the Dragons after being ordered to sit out matches and bulk up.
The 19-year-old played just once in four months after starring for the Gwent region’s development team in the Celtic Cup in October last year and February’s start of the junior Six Nations.
He may have been the lightest player at last year’s U20 World Championship but shone during the 9-8 triumph over record holders New Zealand in Argentina.
Nevertheless, bosses at the Dragons wanted Buckland to put on the kilos, opting to place him on 'development blocks' rather than have him play many matches for them or Newport RFC, where he was placed. He is yet to play for the senior Dragons team.
Buckland told the South Wales Argus he had increased his weight from 70 kilos (11st) to around 77kg (12st).
But he feels he needs regular rugby to progress and could be denied it, with skipper Rhodri Williams and fellow Wales international Tavis Knoyle, who has put pen on a fresh contract, ahead of him in the pecking order at the Dragons and Luke Baldwin and Dan Babos also in the mix.
“This year I would like to get a lot more rugby than I have had in previous years. I just want to try and get my game time as high as possible,” said Buckland.
"Last season I spent a lot of time on development blocks – I was on a development block from the end of Celtic Cup to the start of the Six Nations basically – so only played one game in that time."
He wanted to showcase his talent at this year’s U20 World Championship in Italy but it was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is a big blow for everyone at my age at U20s because it is a big shop window for everyone to show what they can do,” pointed out Buckland.
“I thought it was an unreal experience last year, going out to Argentina, experiencing a different culture."
