The Scarlets have reinforced their High Performance Programme with the return of former Head of Athletic Performance Brad Harrington, who will work with the club in a specialist consultancy role throughout the 2026-27 season.
Harrington has travelled from Australia this week to spend time with the squad as preparations continue ahead of the new campaign. His role will combine periods working on-site with the coaching and performance staff, alongside ongoing remote support throughout the season.
He has established a reputation as one of the game’s leading high-performance practitioners and is currently employed by the Argentine Rugby Union helping develop the pathways and programmes into the senior, U20s and sevens squads.
Harrington brings more than 25 years of experience working at the highest levels of the professional game. Since leaving the Scarlets, he has held senior performance positions with the Wallabies, where he worked alongside head coach Michael Cheika, 2014 Super Rugby winners the Waratahs, in Japanese rugby and with Argentina prior to the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The 52-year-old previously spent six successful years with the Scarlets, working closely with Director of Rugby Nigel Davies during one of the club’s most successful periods, helping to develop a high-performance environment built around innovation, athletic development and continual improvement.
Harrington’s role will provide an experienced external perspective, supporting the club’s coaching and performance staff by sharing knowledge, challenging thinking and helping the Scarlets continue to evolve in an increasingly competitive professional game.
He has also worked in rugby league with Halifax and Castleford Tigers before crossing codes to the 15-man game as strength and conditioning coach with Leinster and the Ireland U21s side.
Scarlets Director of Rugby Nigel Davies said: “One of the biggest dangers in high-performance sport is believing you’ve got all the answers. The best teams are constantly learning, challenging themselves and looking for ways to improve.
“High performance is never a finished product. It’s about continually challenging ourselves, learning from the best and never becoming comfortable. That’s the mindset we’re building here at the Scarlets.
“Brad is someone I’ve worked closely with over many years and have enormous respect for. His experience across international rugby, Super Rugby and some of the world’s leading performance environments gives him a unique perspective that will add real value to what we’re building here.
“Brad’s involvement is about bringing in an experienced set of eyes that can challenge our thinking, share ideas and help us continue to evolve. His external perspective is invaluable because the game continues to shift, and if we want to compete consistently with the best teams in the URC, we have to be prepared to move with it.”
Brad Harrington said: “It’s fantastic to be back at the Scarlets. The club has always been very special to me, my young family grew up here and this community and club was a big part of our lives.
“There’s already a lot of very good work being done by the coaches and performance staff. My role is to really drill down and look in detail in the model the Scarlets is building. So our player pathway, coach pathway development, the physical and medical programmes and support the people already here, share experiences from other high-performance environments and hopefully provide a different perspective that helps the programme continue to grow and improve.
“I’ve got existing relationships with a lot of the coaches and staff, Dwayne (Peel) was here as a player when I was first at Scarlets.
“The ambition around the club is obvious and that’s exciting. There is a real desire to continually improve and looking at what we can do to get better; focusing on how this great region can get stronger and build sustainable success. If I can help the staff and players in any way as they continue that journey, then I’m looking forward to playing my part.”