‘Our injuries are the worst I’ve known in 22 years... next year should be different’
The Scarlets’ season has been a bit like the Stock Exchange Index – up and down – with Europe proving a struggle and the Guinness PRO14 a mix of good and bad.
Should we be surprised?
Well, the West Walians have been hammered by injuries and suffered a number of key departures. It was always going to be difficult for them to maintain momentum they built up last term and the campaign before.
Injuries, of course, affect every professional sports team.
But head coach Wayne Pivac reckons the glut of orthopaedic problems is the worst he has encountered in 22 years as a coach.
You can imagine rivals suggesting it is time to bring out the small violin.
But the Scarlets really have had it bad.
For the Champions Cup game with Ulster in Belfast on Friday evening, they will again be without Leigh Halfpenny as the Wales full-back continues his recovery from the head injury he picked up against Australia on November 10, while James Davies, Rob Evans and Kieron Fonotia all picked up bumps in the home clash with the Northern Irishmen.
Head knocks have also seemed to hit the Scarlets more frequently than most this term, with Halfpenny, Jake Ball, Rhys Patchell, Ed Kennedy, Blade Thomson, Lewis Rawlins and Steve Cummins among those who have been on the receiving end.
And Jonathan Evans, Josh Macleod and Aaron Shingler remain on the sidelines.
Throw in the summer exits of the likes of Tadhg Beirne, John Barclay, Scott Williams and Aled Davies and you have a recipe for problems.
But Pivac, who steps up to the Wales coaching job next term, believes the situation will get better for his Scarlets successor Brad Mooar provided there is no repeat of the ill luck that has savaged them in recent months.
“Next season, if we don’t have the run of injuries, which is the worst for me as a coach in 22 years, things will improve,” he said.
“You would like to think you won’t have that for another year.
“Brad will come in and put his twist on things and it will freshen things up, and I am sure the group will continue to be successful.”
There has been no shortage of midnight oil burned since the home loss to Ulster, with Pivac revealing: “We had meetings on Saturday, Sunday and on Monday night with the coaching group, with people within