The period of austerity which has taken effect in Welsh rugby has led many pundits to fear the worst for Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets.
Squad sizes are getting driven down while the professional sides will eventually have to operate off a salary cap of £4.5million. It doesn't take a genius to work out this will hamper their chances of being successful, at least in the short term, but one positive consequence could be players from this current crop of Wales U20s squad getting fast-tracked into senior rugby.
One player who is hoping to take advantage of this is talented Ospreys outside-half Dan Edwards, who is very highly rated within the Wales U20s set-up. With Gareth Anscombe and Stephen Myler having left the Ospreys and Owen Williams in with a shout of making Wales' Rugby World Cup squad, there is every chance Edwards will be pressed into action in the early rounds of the United Rugby Championship.
