These are your rugby morning headlines on Friday, December 30.
Wales star back but won't be rushed
Wales star Taine Basham is back in the selection mix but won't be rushed back into action, confirmed Dragons coach Dai Flanagan.
The flanker was involved in the warm-up for the Dragons' recent clash with Cardiff at Rodney Parade but is not yet ready for a full-on playing return, said Flanagan.
Basham has been sidelined since mid-October because of a dislocated elbow. Flanagan added he is now in his selection thoughts but they will be mindful on his current fitness levels.
READ MORE: Stephen Jones and Gethin Jenkins leave Wales coaching jobs
“Taine is back in the selection mix but it's important that we don't rush players back,” said Flanagan. “Sometimes players are fit but they are not rugby-fit.”
Basham sustained the injury against Cardiff and was subsequently ruled out of Wales' autumn schedule. Luckily, his shoulder did not require surgery and his return to the fray will be a big boost for Warren Gatland.
He will now hope he gets an opportunity to impress the new Wales head coach ahead of his Six Nations selection, starting with the Scarlets fixture on New Year's Day.
Price wants rugby return
Darts ace Gerwyn Price has revealed he misses rugby and wants to get back to playing again.
Price famously swapped his boots for the arrows eight years ago and he has gone on to find worldwide superstardom on the oche.
During his rugby days Price turned out as hooker for Neath and Cross Keys, as well as a short stint with Glasgow Warriors as injury cover in the old PRO12.
He ended his rugby career in 2014, but it is clear he still misses the oval-shaped ball game and says he's talked with his wife about making a return to the field.
"I miss it, I miss my old life," the 37-year-old said on Sky Sports before his World Championship victory over Jose De Sousa on Thursday night which put him into the quarter-finals at Alexandra Palace..
"I just want a little bit of it back. So I spoke to my wife about it a couple of months ago, and if there is one weekend I have off, then I'm going to put my boots back on and try to get myself back in shape and get back on the field, because I just need to do something I really enjoy again, which I really miss."
Former Wales centre Mark Ring, who was Price's Cross Keys coach when they won the Welsh Cup, reckons he could have been on Ken Owens' level had he committed fully to rugby.
Price scored a wonder try in the cup final at the then Millennium Stadium and Ring said he possessed pace and was technically good in the scrum and lineout.
READ MORE: Ringo reckons Gerwyn could have played for Wales and the Lions
Barclay: I feel sorry for Peel
Former Scotland and Scarlets captain John Barclay has admitted he sees no quick fixes for Dwayne Peel.
Scarlets head coach Peel is under pressure after just one solitary league victory all season. They host the Dragons on New Year's Day with Barclay worried about the future of his former team-mate.
Since taking charge this season, Peel has seen his Scarlets side record just one win and one draw in the URC and they sit second from bottom, eight points below the Dragons.
"The cruel thing is that you are judged on results," says Barclay of former Wales scrum-half Peel.
"He will be disappointed with where they are. I feel quite sorry for Dwayne and the staff there. They have obviously been quite vulnerable, with everything that is currently going on in Welsh rugby right now.”
The Scarlets have received three red cards, 11 yellow cards and just nine points from their first 10 games this season in the URC and Barclay believes discipline has been a huge issue for the West Walians.
He predicts it will continue to drag them down if they do not change their ways. The former back row favourite added: “Defence has obviously been a big issue this year, and they are not in a place where you want to be.
"I know there are enough guys in that squad who I played with that care a lot about the club and want to make it successful, but it has been a difficult start to Dwayne's coaching career so far.
"It’s not easy right now, but from a playing point of view, they have received too many cards this year. Experienced players have been banned and every week it’s becoming the same story.
“It has been a tough season for the Scarlets, they are probably in a rebuilding stage of where they need to be. A lot of guys are coming to the twilight years of their careers.
“There is a core of younger players coming through, but I think it will take them a couple of years to get back to where I’d love to see them. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to see the Scarlets back around the top of the table.
“But it is clear there are areas they need to fix. The hardest thing when you are down at the bottom of the table at Christmas is that you know you won’t be in the play-offs and are heading into a fight for the rest of the season.
"A gulf is opening since the South African sides have come in, and if you are not at your best, you will have no chance."
Watch coverage of Scarlets v Dragons at 5pm on New Year’s Day, on S4C. English commentary available.
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