Osman Dimen continues his stay at Goldington Road

Posted: 1st June 2022
 

Bedford Blues are pleased to announce further bolstering of their front row options for the 2022/23 Championship season as tighthead prop, Osman Dimen re-commits his future for the upcoming campaign.

The 23-year-old, sponsored by Ceetak, made a strong impression in his inaugural season at Goldington Road, making 15 appearances amid a real hotly contested battle for the tighthead jersey.

Benefitting from a rotational structure of the front row positions last year, Dimen faced stiff competition from Corrie Barrett, as well as the Northampton Saints contingent containing Ed Prowse, Oisin Heffernan and Karl Garside.

On extending his spell at Bedford into 2022/23, Dimen said: “I think I’ve developed so much since I first arrived in Bedford. I hadn’t actually had a full season of rugby since 2018/19 due to COVID so it was good to spend a lot of time on the pitch for my first taste of Championship rugby.

“Mike’s philosophy of player development is what I have enjoyed the most. He gets me as a player and particularly when I overthink things, he’s been really good with advice and trusting me on the pitch. My confidence has been boosted massively, being allowed to express myself.

“And working with Sean and senior players such as Jacob Fields has been brilliant. Just with minor details, they’re unrivalled in the Championship, and making small changes has improved my game.

“I’m really excited to see how far we can go as a team. I feel very blessed to be part of a team with such great supporters and hopefully we can put on a show for them next season.”

An experienced front row forward despite his young age, Dimen has worked with some of the best in the business – including former Blues dual-reg and England great Dan Cole – having had previous spells at Premiership giants Leicester Tigers and Wasps.

He has also honed his craft with Loughborough University and Birmingham Moseley and will be looking to kick on further again in 22/23 having had a full Championship season in Bedford.

Director of Rugby, Mike Rayer said: “Osman has been great to work with and when he gets it right, he’s a strong old boy. It’s up to us now to keep getting that consistency out of him.

“A lot of players who came out from academies when COVID happened, they wouldn’t have played a lot of rugby and it’s been really tough for them.  Osman did play quite a few minutes for us last season and was desperate to stay which is always nice to hear him saying stuff like that.

“He’s still a raw talent in tighthead terms and there’s still masses of improvement in him.”