Gareth Williams has joined the Scarlets’ coaching team after his stint working with Wales.
The 40-year-old west Walian takes over the defence coach role in Llanelli previously held by Hugh Hogan.
Williams held down an assistant coach job with Wales under Wayne Pivac, with responsibility for the contact area. He had previously worked with Wales Sevens and with Wales U20s.
During his decade on the Sevens scene, he helped Wales win the World Cup in the short form of the game and also figured as part of the Team GB coaching group at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Popular with his peers and well-respected, Williams assisted with the men's national team during the Autumn Nations Cup in 2020, going on to become a full-time member of Pivac’s back-room panel the following summer, with his involvement ending after the recent three-Test series against the Springboks. You can read more about Williams here.
A former back-row forward, he played 37 matches for the Scarlets between 2000 and 2004.
Williams will now join head coach Dwayne Peel, forwards coach Ben Franks and Emyr Phillips, whose position as interim contact area coach has been made permanent, on the Scarlets coaching ticket. The search for a successor to backs coach Dai Flanagan — who has joined Dragons RFC as head coach — continues.
Williams said: “It’s exciting to be a part of the Scarlets future. There’s been a natural association throughout my career and a natural crossover of work with the Scarlets in my roles across the Sevens, 20s and senior squad, as well as working regularly with the transition players over the last few years. Being able to work with Dwayne, Ben and Emyr as coaches, as well as the wider management team, towards the future is hugely exciting.
“I’m incredibly proud to have been able to work with the men’s national team over the past two years. It is such a great group of talented and hard-working players and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I’d like to thank Wayne, the other coaches and staff for all their support during my time with the squad.”
The Scarlets will be hoping Tumble-born Williams proves a success in his new role. While their attack was as sharp as ever last term, their defence proved an issue, with the Llanelli-based team shipping 50-plus points on four separate occasions, with two other matches seeing 40-pointers handed their way.
Head coach Peel said: “We are thrilled to welcome Gareth back to the Scarlets. He is someone I know well and who came through at Stradey, firstly as a player and also as a development coach with us. He has had extensive coaching experience with the Wales set-up — with the Sevens, U20s and more recently the national side — and will fit smoothly into our coaching philosophy as our preparations continue ahead of the new season.”
Scarlets general manager of rugby Jon Daniels said: “Gareth is a coach who we know well and who also knows and understands the Scarlets well. He brings with him a huge amount of experience from more than a decade of coaching the WRU’s national teams. We would also like to sincerely thank Hugh for his commitment to his role during his time here at the Scarlets, and he goes with our best wishes.”
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