PEEL’S BACK HOME
Scarlets favourite returns to his roots with hands-on coaching role
WELSH rugby most controversial move of the year has been completed with the news that Dwayne Peel has sealed his switch from Ulster to the Scarlets.
Those are words that didn’t look as if they could be written in December after Peel signed a three-year deal to join Cardiff Blues as senior coach, with the deal due to take effect this coming July.
But the former Wales international subsequently underwent a dramatic change of heart which has seen him opt to renew links with the team he represented with such distinction during his playing days.
The Blues, meantime, have announced Matt Sherratt as an assistant coach, with the popular exospreys coach returning to the Arms Park, where he made a favourable impression during a stint there between 2016 and 2018.
Peel takes over as head coach at the
Scarlets, with Glenn Delaney heading upstairs to a director of rugby role.
The dust, then, appears to have settled, to an extent, though a Blues press release on Sherratt says his move “follows an agreement to release Dwayne Peel, who recently indicated his desire not to honour a signed three-year contract, which was due to start in July 2021”.
Whether compensation has been paid from the Scarlets to the Blues over Peel isn’t clear, but it would be a surprise if no agreement had been reached on that front.
Explaining why he is heading home, Carmarthen-born Peel said: “The Scarlets has always meant a massive amount to me and my family and I’m thrilled to be returning to my home club as head coach.
“I have been part of some incredible occasions with the Scarlets during my time at Stradey and I know everyone involved with the club has ambitions to be challenging regularly for silverware and competing with the top sides in Europe.
“As a player, I have experienced first hand the passion of the Scarlets fans, there is a special bond between the supporters and the club and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone back at Parc y Scarlets next season.”
Scarlets executive chairman Simon Muderack said: “It is fantastic news for Scarlets fans that a legend of the club like Dwayne is coming home.
“His outstanding playing career speaks for itself, but he has also become a widely-respected coach during spells with Bristol and more recently Ulster.
“Dwayne understands what the Scarlets is all about, he knows the ‘Scarlets Way’ and he is hugely excited about coming back to West Wales to take up this role in the coaching team.
“Dwayne’s appointment is part of our long-term planning to further strengthen our team off the field and I am sure everyone associated with the Scarlets will be excited by what he will bring. We wish Dwayne well for his final couple of months with Ulster and look forward to welcoming him back to the Scarlets in the summer.”
Peel’s rethink came after the coaching set-up changed at the Arms Park earlier this year, with John Mulvihill leaving as head coach and Dai Young coming in as interim director of rugby.
It’s hard to state definitively what, if anything, Peel had been promised with regards his position and job title by the Blues, but it wasn’t long before rumblings started to be heard that he might be heading to the west of Wales rather than the east.
Welsh-speaking Peel is regarded as one of the finest players to have pulled on the Scarlets jersey, having played 151 matches during nine seasons at Stradey Park.
Hailing from Tumble, Peel was capped 76 times at scrum-half for Wales and was a Test starter with the British & Irish Lions in New Zealand in 2005.
Following spells with Sale Sharks and Bristol, Peel hung up his playing boots to become part of Bristol’s coaching team before taking up a role as assistant coach with Ulster in 2017.
Meantime, Sherratt heads back to the Arms Park. The Blues were sorry to see him go in 2018, with the likeable Englishman having turned down a two-year contract extension to sample life with the Ospreys. He also fitted in a year with Worcester Warriors after his spell in Swansea.
Sherratt will link up with Cardiff following the conclusion of Worcester Warriors’ Premiership season.
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