Who’s taken off... departure lounge?

WELSH regional rugby’s departures and arrivals lounge this summer has provided some soaring success stories and others who have failed to get off the ground.

But, just who are the hits and misses among the new boys at the Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets and who are the ones who have yet to make their mark?

The likes of Scarlets’ recruits Morgan Williams and Tom Grabham, Dragons’ new additions Dan Suter and Liam Belcher and Cardiff Blues signing Sion Bennett have not featured anywhere near enough this season to be properly judged and ranked.

But here are 15 who can come under the Western Mail microscope as wwe see how they have fared in the 2017-18 season so far .... 15: Thretton Palamo (Dragons) Signed as injury cover by the Dragons from Bristol, the hard-running American centre had a shocker on his debut against Ulster before ending up injured after a second appearance against the Southern Kings.Hardly ideal. 14: Rhys Jones (Scarlets) Has featured regularly off the bench for the Scarlets, acting as a sound deputy to undisputed first-choice 10 Rhys Patchell. But the decision to bring Dan Jones out of the cold to start against Benetton in Patchell’s absence speaks volumes of how the region view the former Dragons fly-half. 13: Zane Kirchner (Dragons) The Springbok full-back moved to Rodney Parade from Leinster with a wealth of experience, 31 South Africa caps and a big reputation.

After starting the opening three games, Kirchner injured his shoulder in the win against Connacht and has not featured since. 12: Tom Prydie (Scarlets) With the likes of Johnny McNicholl, Leigh Halfpenny and Steff Evans as competition to once-youngest Wales player, game time has been hard to come by for Prydie.

However, with the latter two involved with Wales, international periods will see him feature more – with a first start against Benetton on Friday a solid, if unspectacular, start. 11: Gerard Ellis (Dragons) The hooker has been behind Wales squad member Elliot Dee since joining from London Irish and rightly so.

When he has played, it has usually been off the bench or in a weakened side travelling away – which hasn’t helped his cause either. 10: Jack Roberts (Cardiff Blues) Would be harsh to place the centre too low down, but 14 minutes of rugby for the region tells it story, as the highlyanticipated arrival from Leicester Tigers has struggled with injuries.

Lasted just a quarter of an hour on his