Tom Isaacs pushes past Wasp Dave Walder
The Ospreys are delighted to confirm that Tom Isaacs has become the latest player to commit his future to the region, signing a new two-year contract.
24-year old Isaacs moved to the Ospreys in the summer of 2009 from Newport RFC, as a scrum-half who had been identified as having the potential to develop into a quality midfield player. Although his first season at the Liberty Stadium was hindered by injury problems, he still managed to make an impression in the Premiership with Swansea.
This season has season him begin to establish himself at the Ospreys, and he has eight appearances for the region to his credit. A member of the Welsh Sevens Rugby World Cup winning squad two years ago, he made his debut for the region against the Dragons at the Liberty Stadium in October, with his first start coming in last month’s 18-13 LV= Cup win over London Wasps at the Brewery Field, where he turned in a man-of-the-match performance from outside centre.
Speaking after signing his new deal, Isaacs commented: “I’m delighted to have won a new contract, it’s great news for me personally and I’m pleased to have secured a future with the Ospreys. It’s been a difficult two years, the first one in particular, it was almost a complete write off for me. Because of that I look at it as I’ve only really been here a year, and I think that this season has gone pretty well for me. I genuinely believe that I’ve learnt a lot here and I feel that I’m constantly improving. I’m really happy to be staying here, and hopefully, continuing to learn and improve my game to become a better all-round player. “I’ve enjoyed the game time I’ve had this season and I hope that people have been impressed by what I can do, but I feel that I’ve got a lot more that I can give. I’m desperate to play more games and do that, I’m desperate to pull on the shirt regularly and I’m really excited about the next two years.”
Ospreys Head Coach, Sean Holley, said: “This is another bit of great news for the Ospreys. It’s a reward for Tom’s hard work, determination and professional attitude, and for what we see in him as a rugby player. He hasn’t had the number of appearances for the Ospreys that he may have hoped for up until now, and that is largely down to significant injuries suffered in his first season here. However, he has put that well behind him now, thanks in no small part to the excellent support and care he had from the Ospreys medical team, and is working hard in training, making great strides. His performances in the Premiership with Swansea, and in the Magners League and LV= Cup for the Ospreys this year, have really made people sit up and notice his potential. He still has a lot of rugby ahead of him, and we see him as someone who can really push through in the next two years with us with his obvious talents.”
“He is somebody who can break the line and he has a quality that not a lot of players possess in that he can beat players. He has pace off the mark, and he is a very versatile player who offers a real threat to the opposition. We’ve really seen him progress since he came here and we look forward to working with him over the next two years, helping him to reach his full potential.”