Workaholic wing Fricker tipped to be a Premiership hit after swapping Ebbw Vale for Bristol

The 23-year-old Londoner has earned a chance at the Bears thanks to his exploits with the Steelmen over the past two seasons.

Fricker came through London Scottish's Academy and headed for Eugene Cross Park after being recommended to the club following strong displays for Welsh Academicals.

The speedster, whose father is from Builth Wells, was named as Principality Premiership newcomer of the year for 2017/18 and earned selection for Wales in the Rugby Europe Sevens last summer.

Now his dreams of being a professional have been realised after Bears coach Pat Lam liked what he saw and snapped him up on a two-year deal.

That Fricker, who has studied at Bristol University and lives in the city, has earned a crack as a full-timer comes as no surprise to Ebbw given that they couldn't keep him away from Cae Canol.

"Toby trains hard," said head coach Greg Woods. "He travelled the furthest but never missed a session, even when I gave him a week off because of that distance.

"I'd tell him to stay at home and train at a local gym, but he would always come up to Ebbw Vale and that says a lot about his desire to get better.

"He always turned up and wanted to improve by doing extras, working hard with the coaches and players like Rhys Jones to improve his accuracy in training and ability to adapt to situations.

"He has always had that inner drive to become a professional rugby player and I don't doubt that he will go really well and improve quickly in a full-time environment with world-class coaches."

Fricker headed to Bristol immediately because on injuries in the back three and Woods believes that while the prospect is raw, he has the attributes to be a success in the Premiership.

"I'd imagine that Bristol liked his moments on the ball," said Woods. "He is always in the action, carrying, defending, running hard into heavy traffic.

"He is a physical specimen who will suit the English game in the wide channels; he is almost an old-fashioned player and Bristol would have been attracted by his durability.

"He has played every minute of every game for about 18 months, and that's not just standing on the wing doing nothing, it's carrying 15 times a game, making big tackles and scoring tries. He chases hard and creates opportunities."

The loss of Fricker is a blow for Ebbw but the Steelmen, who previously helped Josh Lewis and Carl Meyer earn chances as pros, are thrilled to have played their part in giving the winger a chance at the big time.

"Toby always had aspirations to become a professional and we are over the moon for him," said Woods.

"There was a plan for him and he has done it the hard way by playing week in, week out to get noticed.

"He has been one of the best players in the Premiership for some time and that has earned a chance at a big club.

"Hopefully he will get a shot between now and the end of the season and then he can have a big summer to get used to being a professional.

"There will be a bit of a transition period but after that I can see him flying at Bristol."

The Bears are involved in the tussle to beat the drop from the Premiership and head to La Rochelle in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup on Sunday, with Fricker registered for European action.

Lam, who won the title with Connacht before heading to Ashton Gate, is excited by the potential of his new recruit.

"I think we've seen similar with a lot of the young boys, the unknown players to have come through," said the former Samoa back rower.

"People are saying these boys who were in the Championship last year are really coming to the fore.

"It doesn't surprise me because they're hungry, they're coachable and they're fully motivated and we've got good staff. And that's how the magic happens.

"I believe we'll see that with him. He's come through the old school path of club rugby, no academy stuff, so it'll be interesting to see his development over the next couple of years."