The Cardiff wing is a man in demand
French giants La Rochelle are interested in signing rising teenage star Tom Bowen from Cardiff.
The 19-year-old has been a revelation since returning to Cardiff from Clifton College where he was in the Bristol Bears academy. Bowen is lightning fast and is already one of the deadliest finishers in the United Rugby Championship, scoring five times this season.
He has also been in fine form for Wales U20s, who pushed both England U20s and France U20s close before claiming their first win of the U20s Six Nations against Scotland.
His potential hasn’t gone unnoticed, with former European champions La Rochelle making enquiries about Bowen’s availability.
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French clubs proactively identify overseas academy players they believe they can develop into top international players to comply with Joueurs Issus des Filières de Formation (JIFF) regulations.
La Rochelle are coached by Ireland great Ronan O’Gara and have a star-studded squad with world class facilities and coaching.
Former England wing Jack Nowell, Georgian star Davit Niniashvili, former Springbok Dillyn Leyds and Australia international Suliasi Vunivalu are some of the back-three firepower at the club.
WalesOnline understands Bowen’s academy contract has been upgraded to a senior contract so La Rochelle would have to pay compensation.
But that does not necessarily mean Bowen will leave Cardiff where he will have plenty of opportunities to continue his development and push for senior international honours. It is difficult to see him leaving Wales at this point with his career progressing well.
Welsh rugby is struggling but the one shining light is the amount of talent currently in the Wales U20s set-up.
While some players already ply their trades in England, the likes of Bowen, Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, Tom Howe and Steffan Emanuel are bound to attract interest from clubs based outside of Wales.
The road ahead remains unclear but Welsh rugby’s future structure needs to find a way to retain its best talent in Wales in the long-run.