Scarlets have confirmed a 30-man playing squad that will travel to South Africa today (Tuesday) ahead of their BKT United Rugby Championship matches against the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls.
Scarlets are boosted by the arrival of new signing Tom Allen and the return to fitness of prop Corey Domachowski for the games in Cape Town on October 24 and Pretoria on October 31.
Second row Allen (pictured above) arrived in west Wales over the weekend following the end of his New Zealand provincial campaign with Hawke’s Bay and will now join the travelling squad flying out from Heathrow to Cape Town.
Domachowski is back in contention after recovering from the chest injury he suffered against Saracens in pre-season, while exciting young back-three player Isaac Murray-Macgregor is also pushing for his first URC appearance in a Scarlets jersey.
The travelling squad boasts plenty of experience and attacking quality with Gareth Anscombe, Gareth Davies, Johnny Williams, Joe Hawkins and Joe Roberts joined by exciting talents such as Macs Page, Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, Ioan Jones and Murray-Macgregor.
Director of Rugby Nigel Davies believes the increasing competition within the group is an encouraging sign of the progress being made.
Nigel Davies said: “We’re really looking forward to the trip. We’ve had a positive couple of weeks with the wins over Benetton and Newcastle, and there’s a growing confidence and belief in what we’re trying to achieve.
“We’ve worked hard to strengthen the squad and create genuine competition for places, and I think we’re beginning to see the benefits of that. It gives us options on how we approach games and the players are pushing each other hard and that competition is helping raise standards.
“It’s great to have Corey back. He brings real quality and experience to our front row, while Tom Allen is an exciting addition who will give us another big, athletic option in the second row. We’ve got a strong squad travelling, and I’m really confident in the players we’ve selected.
“We are looking forward to the challenge of taking on two of the best sides in the URC. We’ve got a number of players who have worked extremely hard to get themselves into contention, and I’m looking forward to seeing them take their opportunities.”
The Scarlets will travel without Ryan Elias, Sam Costelow, Eddie James, Ellis Mee and Blair Murray, who will remain in Wales for a planned period of recovery following their recent international commitments and involvement in the opening weeks of the season.
The decision follows discussions with the WRU and forms part of the player-management and rest provisions of PRA25. Decisions have been made with consideration of each player’s individual playing minutes, cumulative workload and recovery requirements across both international and club rugby ahead of the forthcoming Autumn Nations Championship.
Scarlets squad for BKT URC round four and five matches against DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls
(Forwards) Kemsley Mathias, Sam O’Connor, Corey Domachowski, John McKee, George Roberts, Isaac Young, Harri O’Connor, Henry Thomas, Gabe Hawley, Tom Allen, Sam Lousi, Alex Groves, Harvey Cuckson, Dan Davis, Josh Macleod (capt), Taine Plumtree, Fletcher Anderson.
(Backs) Gareth Davies, Dane Blacker, Archie Hughes, Gareth Anscombe, Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, Johnny Williams, Joe Hawkins, Joe Roberts, Gabe McDonald, Macs Page, Isaac Murray-Macgregor, Ioan Jones, Ioan Nicholas.