Caerphilly coach Mark Ring has sent out a plea to Welsh regional bosses to save his unfancied European heroes from the rugby scrap-heap under the new professional set-up.
The former Wales star insisted his men could hold their high after flying the flag for Wales in the PARKER PEN SHIELD Final - despite their 40-12 defeat to French giants Castres.
And he is now hoping that their exploits on the continent and improved form at home will convince the five regional coaches to offer his players a future in the game.
"There are several players here at Caerphilly with bright futures, it's just a question of whether someone takes them under their wing at a region," said Ring, himself linked to an assistant coaching role at Cardiff.
"Results this season have shown how much these players have improved and developed as this season has gone on and I just hope that a few of them are snapped up otherwise they could just disappear."
This has been Caerphilly's most successful season for several seasons having been the last Welsh team left in Europe and having collected four victories in the Welsh Premiership - their best league showing for four years. Yet none of the squad have been taken on by any of the five regions.
"Players like Joe El-Abd and Mark Workman have been outstanding this season, Darren Davies and youngsters like Ryan Howells and Nick Rouse have really come on leaps and bounds while Justin Thomas and Luke Richards have already shown what they can do," said Ring.
"Howells reminds me a lot of a young Mark Taylor who I worked with at Pontypool. He is whole hearted every time he runs and gives 100 per cent while Davies has really taken to the second-row.
"I never considered him a lock but because of the number of back-row players here I needed to play him there earlier in the season and he has been outstanding. His pace means he is exceptionally mobile and is a strong ball-carrier.
"All of these guys deserve a future in the game. If they are not taken on then hopefully we would be able to convince them to stay at Caerphilly though with the lack of money around to cover expenses, many of this team may be tempted to play for more local clubs.
"If we do manage to keep them I think Caerphilly would be in a very strong position to win the Welsh Premiership next season."
Ring, who took over at Virginia Park at the start of the season, is himself facing an uncertain future given the reduction in the number of professional clubs in Wales.
He said: "There's a lot of uncertainty and rumours going around at the moment but I would love to stay involved in rugby full-time in some capacity. We will have to wait and see what happens."
