Talented young centre Aneurin Owen will have one head in the playbook and one in revision books as he looks to top the class with Wales Under-20s at the World Rugby Under-20 Championships in Argentina.
Dragons Academy ace Owen, 18, has graduated from Wales Under-18s this season and impressed throughout the Six Nations bid earlier this year.
The Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw pupil is now ready to jet off to South America with seven fellow Dragons for the showpiece event.
However, the naturally gifted back admits his tour will be different to others as he prepares to combine his rugby with A-Level studies.
“I’ve got exams at the moment and have three before I go and three while I’m out there,” smiled Owen, who started playing the game at Newport High School Old Boys before being picked up by the Dragons Academy.
“It’s trying to balance that, which can be quite tough, but you have to try and enjoy it. Luckily my exams are not on the same day as a game so I think it will be okay.
“When we are not training I will be in the hotel revising,” added Owen, who is studying Physical Education, Maths and History.
“It will be tough, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go halfway across the world to play rugby. It’s all about getting the revision done.
“It’s actually quite nice because you are not rugby focussed all the time. You spend so long training and focussed on that, so it is nice that I have something else to concentrate on.
“Hopefully I will see some of the country because it looks amazing, but a lot of the time will be spent revising. I’m hoping to go to Cardiff Met if I get the grades to study Sports Performance Analysis.”
Owen has certainly been top of the class for Wales Under-20s such has made a seemingly seamless switch up from Wales Under-18s and also represented Ebbw Vale in the Principality Premiership.
And he has enjoyed every experience thrown his way, in particular the Six Nations bid where he scored a memorable try against eventual champions Ireland.
“The Six Nations was a really good learning curve for me,” he admitted.
“As a team we can take a lot of positives from it. It was a chance to test ourselves against some really good teams and best in the world.
“The England game showed we can play and win against the best teams in the world. It’s now about doing that week in and week out.
“The World Cup is the challenge now and we have some tough teams, so it’s aiming for a result in all those games.”
And Owen concedes the focus is looking no further than the opening clash with hosts Argentina.
“The first game with Argentina is our focus and on trying to get a result,” he said.
“All our work in the camp has been focussed on that, if we can get a result in the first game it will kick-start the World Cup for us and we can gather some momentum for the other games.
“It will be hostile, they are the home team, and there will be a big crowd. We’re looking to put a performance out there that we can be happy with.
“Argentina will be completely new to me and great learning curve,” he concluded.
“To try and play in a different country and different environment, where I haven’t played before, is something I’m looking forward to it. It will be intense over there and I can’t wait to get started.”
It will be tough, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go halfway across the world to play rugby. It’s all about getting the revision done...
