Rob Evans — a Six Nations Grand Slam winner with Wales barely three years ago — is among nine players who are leaving the Scarlets.
Former captain Steff Hughes is among the group, along with Wales international Tyler Morgan. Angus O’Brien, James Davies, Liam Williams, Marc Jones, Tom Phillips and Tom Lewis complete the list.
Head coach Dwayne Peel said: “I’d like to thank all these players for everything they have given to the Scarlets jersey. Boys like Rob, Steff, Cubby and Liam have played more than a century of games for the club and they will be fondly remembered by everyone here, staff, team-mates and supporters.
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"They can be extremely proud of what they have achieved and I am sure they will have great memories of representing the Scarlets over the years.
“Every season players move on and we always respect the decisions that are made. With a reduced playing budget, we have had to cut our squad for next season and that has meant we have had some difficult decisions to make.
“The players have continued to give their full commitment, as they have always done, and I’m sure our supporters will give them the reception they all deserve at our final game against the Stormers on Saturday. I wish them all well for what comes next.”
Evans’ exit is the one that will likely attract most interest.
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In 2019, the loosehead prop with the flypaper hands started four out of five of Wales’ Six Nations games as the side coached by Warren Gatland reeled off their clean sweep. The previous year Evans had been playing well enough to be included on a list of the Rugby World magazine’s top 100 players on the planet.
It started to go wrong just months after Gatland’s final Grand Slam with the New Zealander omitting Evans from Wales’ World Cup squad on the grounds of durability, with the Haverfordwest-born player having had shoulder, neck and back issues.
He appeared to have overcome those problems in 2020 when the then Scarlets coach Glenn Delaney reckoned he had never seen him looking in better shape, but it’s been a fight for Evans to re-establish himself as first-choice at his region since, not helped by further time on the sidelines.
This term, he has started just five games amid the emergence of young props Steffan Thomas and Kemsley Mathias.
Evans’ passion for his home region can’t be doubted, though, never more clearly underlined than when he fronted up before the TV cameras for an interview after the 43-13 home defeat against Munster earlier this season, with the usually happy-go-lucky player on the verge of tears as he explained what had gone wrong. You can read more about Evans here.
At just 30, he still has time to show he can do a job at a high level.
Hughes and Morgan appear to have been crowded out by the competition for midfield places at the Scarlets, with internationals Jonathan Davies, Johnny Williams and Scott Williams all vying for game-time, plus impressive youngster Joe Roberts, while Ioan Nicholas has also played in midfield.
The Llanelli-based region handed Hughes the captaincy while key figures were away last term and the year before and he proved an assured leader, bright and articulate and not given to panicking. But this term it’s been a battle for him to make the starting line-up.
O’Brien is rejoining the Dragons after four years in Llanelli, with Liam Williams heading for Cardiff and Davies having retired as a player amid concussion issues.
A serious knee injury checked Lewis’ progress, with Phillips also unlucky on the orthopedic front. Hooker Jones moves on after four seasons out west.
