Latest news with #Llanelli
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Scarlets sign back row Davies from Ospreys
Scarlets have signed back row Tristan Davies from Ospreys for next 23-year-old has played 13 games since making his Ospreys debut in 2022, featuring against Scarlets on Judgement Day in April. Davies also ran out in this season's Challenge Cup matches against Lions and Montpellier."I'm really excited for the opportunity ahead. I love what's being built at the Scarlets and the direction the team is heading and believe I can bring my own style of play to the group and add to what is already a very strong outfit," Davies said. "I've always admired the Scarlets' style of play and the support at Parc y Scarlets is always top class - it's a tough place for opposition, so I'm happy to have that kind of backing on my side now."I'm also very thankful for the past few seasons at Ospreys and everything I've learned there."Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel said he has been impressed with Davies' physicality and the way he has taken his opportunities when selected."He carries well, puts a big shift into defence and has a great work ethic. He will add to a strong group of back-row forwards we have at the club," said Peel. Davies becomes the Scarlets' fifth new signing for next season, joining Joe Hawkins, Jake Ball, Dane Blacker and Ioan Jones.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Wales centre Williams signs new Scarlets contract
Wales centre Johnny Williams has signed a new two-year deal to stay at 28, has been in impressive form this season and has been rewarded with a Wales recall for the summer tour of arrived in Llanelli in 2020 after signing from Newcastle Falcons."Johnny is a key member of the squad, someone who has become a leader for us on and off the field," said Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel."That experience is going to be vital over the coming years as part of the young back division we are developing at the club."His re-signing is more positive news for the club as we continue to build and grow as a group." Williams has not played a Test for Wales since the World Cup warm-up matches in August 2023."It is great to be back in the Wales set-up," said Williams."I have been gutted to have missed a couple of squad selections, so I'm obviously delighted to be back in the mix."Following the departures of Jonathan Davies and Scott Williams, he is now the elder Scarlets statesman in a crop of centres that includes internationals Joe Roberts and Eddie James, with the uncapped Macs Page also selected for Wales' tour of Japan."I have been here five years now and I feel this team is really evolving," said Williams."There is a lot of talent within the squad, especially with the young guys coming through - I am one of the oldest players in the squad now at 28."These are exciting times and I am looking forward to seeing where this team can go."Fellow backs Page, James, Roberts, Tomi Lewis and Sam Costelow have also agreed new deals, alongside Wales forward duo Taine Plumtree and Kemsley Scarlets signings include fly-half/centre Joe Hawkins, lock Jake Ball, scrum-half Dane Blacker and full-back Ioan Jones.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
The Reform revolution is about to strike Labour's Welsh heartlands
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's attack on Nigel Farage to shore up Labour's standing in its traditional working-class heartlands has appeared to fall on deaf ears, with the party losing to Reform UK in a local by-election in the ward of Lliedi in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire. An impressive victory in the south-west of Wales, Reform UK won 43 per cent of the vote share in Lliedi – with Labour's plunging to just 23 per cent, a drop of 35 percentage points. There wasn't much good news for the Tories, with theirs dropping into single digits, registering just seven per cent. The new councillor, Michelle Beer, is the wife of Gareth Beer – the Reform UK candidate who came within 1,505 votes of unseating the sitting Labour MP for Llanelli, Dame Nia Griffith, at last year's general election. The result in Lliedi follows Reform's gain at Labour's expense last month in a local by-election for the Bridgend ward of Pyle, Kenfig Hill and Cefn Cribwr in south Wales. But why is the governing party losing its grip on these Welsh heartlands? There are a variety of factors at play – one being Welsh Labour's spectacular mismanagement of the National Health Service (with healthcare being a devolved responsibility). According to a recent report produced by a group of independent experts, there is a 'high risk' of increasing patient harm if there is not an 'urgent improvement and turnaround' in the Welsh NHS – with emergency care and cancer treatment cited as areas which needed addressing. While Labour has sought to blame the previous Tory government for troubles with the NHS in England, it has nowhere to hide in Wales, which has had a Labour First Minister since the creation of the Welsh Assembly. However, the ongoing small-boats emergency on the English south coast cannot be overlooked, with its reverberations now impacting on local politics in the south of Wales. Llanelli recently witnessed protests over the four-star Stradey Park Hotel being pencilled in as a venue to house 207 asylum seekers, with the Home Office eventually u-turning on the matter. But the damage has been done, with established communities in Welsh towns knowing that they have been eyed up by Whitehall for the relocation of illegal Channel migrants. With Labour's 'smashing the gangs' strategy failing miserably and the Tories having lost all credibility over immigration, Reform UK are well positioned to cash in electorally on this front. Reform's spectacular surge in the recent English local elections, which saw the party gain council control in Durham and Doncaster, shows that Farage's turquoise army is more than capable of parking their tanks on Labour's red lawns. Labour is running the risk of an electoral bloodbath in Britain's traditional Left-wing heartlands – at the hands of an insurgent challenger party of the Right which is led by a man who once wanted to keep the Thatcherite flame alive. Rather than go on the attack, Starmer would be wise to undertake a serious period of reflection.
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Leinster's Furlong and Henshaw to miss quarter-final
Tadhg Furlong and Robbie Henshaw have been ruled out of Leinster's United Rugby Championship quarter-final against Scarlets at Aviva Stadium on Saturday (15:00 BST). Leinster said prop Furlong is unavailable after picking up a "minor calf injury" while centre Henshaw has sustained a knee problem which could keep him out for four weeks. In more positive news, Jordan Larmour is in contention to feature after being sidelined for five months with a hamstring injury. The 27-year-old wing, who has 32 Ireland caps, has been restricted to just five appearances this season, the last of which came against Munster on 27 has also endured an injury-plagued campaign. The 32-year-old has only managed eight appearances for Leinster while calf and hamstring issues restricted him to just one substitute appearance in Ireland's Six Nations campaign. Despite his lack of game time, he was named in Andy Farrell's British and Irish Lions squad last started all three Tests in the 2017 and 2021 Lions series in New Zealand and South Africa. Leinster are top seeds in the URC play-offs after finishing the regular season top of the standings, but fell to a shock 35-22 loss to Scarlets in Llanelli last month.
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Lock Jones to leave Scarlets this summer
Lock Morgan Jones will leave Scarlets following the conclusion of the 2024-25 second row has made 65 appearances for the region, but will depart Parc y Scarlets once his side's United Rugby Championship (URC) play-off campaign comes to an end.A club statement read: "We all wish him the very best for the next chapter."Jones was part of Leicester Tigers' academy but was eligible to play for Wales through his Llanelli-born second row made his senior Scarlets debut in a pre-season match in Jersey in went on to feature at international age grade level, earning caps with both Wales' under-18 and under-20 take on Leinster at Dublin's Aviva Stadium in the play-off quarter-finals on Saturday, 31 May (15:00 BST).
