Highly-rated young fly half Jarrod Evans has pledged his long-term future to Cardiff Blues after signing a first senior contract at the region.
Evans has put pen to paper this week and stepped up from the Blues Academy set-up to join the senior ranks.
Pontypridd born and bred, Evans, 18, came through the mini and junior ranks of his local club before his precocious talents saw him called into the Blues Academy.
The talented playmaker has been capped by Wales and Youth and Under-18 level and made his debut for Pontypridd when aged just 17 in 2013.
Richard Hodges, Elite Performance Pathway Manager at Cardiff Blues, said: “Jarrod has been part of the Blues set-up since he was 14 and has progressed through the Blues North and Under-18s squads.
“He is a talented young player who many fans will remember scoring four tries as Blues Under-18s won the Regional Championship final at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park last season.
“Jarrod has had to recover from two operations this season, but is now coming back into the mix. I’m sure he’ll be very keen to push for a place in the LV=Cup squads next month and be part of the Wales Under-20 set-up in the coming years.
“He is the next player off the conveyor belt of talent we are looking to produce at Cardiff Blues and I’m confident Jarrod will play a big part for this region and get even better in the coming years.”
Evans said: “Cardiff Blues gave me the opportunity to come through the system and progress since I was youngster and so I’m delighted to now take the step up to the senior squad.
“It will be great to get back out on the field in the coming weeks and playing some rugby again. For me the hard work starts now and I want to push myself as hard as can and see where I go.
“I want to keep improving and Blues have a lot of talented fly halves like Gareth Anscombe, Rhys Patchell, Gareth Davies and Simon Humberstone who have been great with me. Now it’s about learning from them and moving forward.”