Davies set to miss URC play-off against Leinster
United Rugby Championship quarter-final: Leinster v ScarletsVenue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Saturday, 31 May Kick-off: 15:00 BSTCoverage: Watch on BBC One Wales, listen on BBC Radio Wales, follow live text on BBC Sport online.
Scrum-half Gareth Davies is set to miss Scarlets' United Rugby Championship quarter-final against Leinster.Davies suffered a rib injury in the victory against Lions in South Africa, and despite being back on the training pitch, is very unlikely to feature in Dublin on Saturday."He's been an outstanding operator for us this year," said Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel."But he's going to struggle to make it this weekend."Peel did not rule out a return for Davies should Scarlets progress to the semi-finals. "He was running this morning. One thing you know about him is that he won't quit. If there's a sniff of him having a chance to play, he'll give it everything," he said.
Peel said he was "comfortable with his other nines" and was full of praise for Davies' replacement Archie Hughes."Archie over the last two games [in South Africa] has proved his worth," he said. "We've spoken a lot about Archie over the last couple of years, he's taken his time this season and we've seen some steady growth in his game."
Peel is preparing his side for their first appearance in the play-offs in seven years, but has done so against a backdrop of off-field turmoil. Scarlets and Ospreys have not signed up to the Welsh Rugby Union's (WRU) new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) and have been served notice on their current deal which expires in 2027.It means they both could receive smaller budgets compared to WRU-owned Cardiff and Dragons - who have signed - as a result of a new two-tier funding system.The WRU has also neither confirmed or denied it intends to cut a region."Within these four walls, it's not really overshadowed it," said Peel."We're up to date with everything that's been going on, but we've concentrated on the game in hand."
Asked if he was concerned a smaller budget would affect recruitment, Peel said: "Those type of things will play out over the next couple of weeks, all we can do is concentrate on the here and now."He is confident though that Wales centre Johnny Williams will re-sign for next season. "We're having some positive conversations, hopefully there will be some good news shortly," Peel said. "I have faith in our board to do the best by this region," he added."All we can do as a group of players is to continue playing as hard as we can and the other things will fall into place."
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