Young delighted to secure future stars

The Welsh region announced yesterday that seven players had signed new contracts namely Leigh Halfpenny, Bradley Davies, Chris Czekaj, Andries Pretorius, Dafydd Hewitt, Josh Navidi and James Down.

The news comes just weeks after Sam Warburton and Tom James signed new long-term deals.

Young has heralded the news amid the current financial climate which has seen the Blues implement cuts to their playing budget.

Young has ruled out making any new signings for now but insists the up-and-coming stars in his squad are good enough to push for glory.

"The signings of Bradley, Leigh and Chris are excellent because it's nice to focus on something positive," said Young.

"The last six months have all been about cuts and where our budget is going to be next year.

"I'll say again, we are not in a position financially to look to bring anybody in.

"Everyone knows we are going to have to go through a rebuilding phase, but you cannot lose the young Welsh talent you have.

"For us, that means keeping people like Bradley, Leigh and Chris. They are going to form our backbone for the next four or five seasons.

"We have a strong academy coming through as well, so I think the future is going to be good for the Blues.

"This shows these players feel that things are going to be right for them here and that is pleasing."