Gareth Davies has signed a fresh contract with the Scarlets to extend his marathon stint with the west Wales region.
Dwayne Peel’s side have been building significant momentum of late with three big wins that have dramatically improved their chances of making the United Rugby Championship’s play-offs and taken them to the top of the competition’s Welsh Shield. Davies has been at the centre of the successes against Zebre (41-24) and Cardiff (35-20 and 49-14 ), with the 31-year-old man-of-the-match in the game against the Italians and credited with three try assists over the matches.
One of the most dangerous attacking nines in the game, he has crossed for 55 tries over his Scarlets career which began with an outing as a 18-year-old against Ulster in 2009, with his highlights including a memorable score in the Guinness PRO12 final win over Munster five years ago.
There have also been 67 Wales caps along the way, while Davies featured for the Lions in South Africa last summer. A third World Cup could also be on the horizon for a creative and quick player who’s still very much in Wayne Pivac's plans and consistently thrives for his home region.
He said: “I have always been extremely proud to wear the Scarlets jersey — it means a huge amount to me and my family. It was an easy decision to sign a new contract here.
“I first joined the Scarlets academy when I was 17 years old and I’ve played over 200 games for the club. Since Dwayne has arrived I’ve loved every minute of it. He was someone I admired as a player growing up.
“It is a great place to come into work every day and we feel we are really building something with Dwayne and the other coaches. As you’ve seen from some of our most recent games there’s a good crop of youngsters coming through which is great for us as a squad.
“Winning the PRO12 title with the Scarlets a few years ago is up there as one of my career highlights and as a group we want to be challenging for silverware and the best in Europe again. We have four big games left and hopefully we can get into the URC play-offs and secure Champions Cup rugby again for next season.”
Scarlets head coach Peel sees Davies as a player who, with his high standards, young players at the region can look up to, adding: “You can see by his recent performances what playing for the Scarlets means for Gar. He is from the region and is passionate about driving this side forwards over the next few years.
“He possesses that X-factor that can change a game and he has shown that at the highest level. He is also one of the most experienced players in the squad, a player who sets high standards which is something the young nines we have coming through can aspire to. It is great news that he has signed a new contract.”
Davies becomes the latest contract renewal to be announced by the Scarlets in recent weeks, in the wake of Sam Lousi, Scott Williams, Rhys Patchell, Johnny McNicholl, Ryan Conbeer and Sam Costelow putting pen to paper on new packages.
