Young Dragons centre Aneurin Owen has left an impression on 94-cap veteran Jamie Roberts, who says the 20-year-old reminds him of himself.
Owen has been earmarked as an exciting prospect for a while now and has featured for Wales under-20s over the last two years.
There is hope he will go on to make a mark on the senior international stage and Roberts tips him for big things.
"He asks a lot of questions and that is a great sign of somebody who wants to learn and wants to accelerate their development," Roberts says.
"I love that because when I was a kid I would never leave a training session without understanding why.
"I was probably annoying as hell because I asked so many questions. He is a bit like that, he will always question stuff and is always asking me or coaches about things, trying to understand why.
"That’s a great sign, and he also has all the attributes. He distributes the ball very well and has come on leaps and bounds in the gym – we do our squats together every week!
"It’s good fun and I have really enjoyed seeing the growth in Aneurin, who will no doubt go on to big things in the game,” Roberts told the South Wales Argus.
Owen made his debut for the region in their European Champions Cup clash against Bordeaux last year. He then came on for another taste of professional rugby against the Scarlets last weekend.
He is not involved against the Ospreys on Saturday, but head coach Dean Ryan has certainly been impressed with what he’s seen.
Owen recently spoke to the WRU website about the impact that two-time Lion Roberts has had on him.
He said: "It’s not like every second of the day Jamie is trying to pass on his knowledge, just him being in that environment and the way he is in meetings, he doesn’t even have to be talking directly to you and it’s the same with Nick [Tompkins].
"It’s just their professionalism, the way they approach training and the standards they set themselves, you can gauge what it’s all about, you can speak to them if you want and they’re happy to speak to you but you can easily pick up things by training with them."
He added: "Jamie is someone who has played top-level rugby for so long and just by training with him, you can understand why.
"Some of the traits and little things maybe people don’t see, you can actually pick up and take into your own game, so his arrival has been really positive and it’s benefited me massively."
