URC strugglers recruit a combined 240kg of ballast from England and SA

The Scarlets have signed two new second-rows to help provide cover in a threadbare department of the field for Dwayne Peel.

With Max Douglas now added to the club’s second-row injury list after suffering a rib injury in the 34-0 loss to the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship on Friday, the Scarlets have signed 21-year-old Harvey Cuckson from Bath and 24-year-old Alex Groves from the Stormers.

The two locks, each weighing 120kg, will provide some much-needed heft in the engine room at Parc y Scarlets, though the club will be strengthened by the inclusion of Sam Lousi and Jake Ball for their upcoming tour of South Africa, where they will take on the Lions and the Sharks, after missing the recent contest with the Stormers.

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Former player Steve Cummins, who joined the club on a short-term basis from the Dragons last week, has returned to his former club after featuring from the bench at the weekend. Jac Price and academy lock Will Evans, meanwhile, remain sidelined.

The defeat to the Stormers means the Scarlets remain winless after three rounds of action and rooted at the foot of the URC table, though they do have a game in hand after their round two clash with Connacht was postponed due to Storm Amy.

Fixture

United Rugby Championship

Lions

29 - 18

Full-time

Scarlets

All Stats and Data

Their upcoming fixtures in South Africa are against two of the other four sides that are yet to register a win this season. They will need to improve, however, after what head coach Peel described as a “sobering night” against the Stormers.

“We needed to be at our very best to compete against a very good side and we weren’t. It was a sobering night for us,” he said.

“I thought the Stormers were excellent, their set-piece work was exceptional, as good as I’ve seen with that power. Their maul and scrum put us under a lot of pressure; they went to the air a lot, contrary to what you normally see from the Stormers, and their physicality around our breakdown was also very good. That is the standard we need to chase, they are setting that standard in the league at the moment.

“But there are areas in our game within our control which we need to be better at, when we had the ball we forced it at times and looked a bit ragged. We lost a couple of line-outs in their 22 early on, we didn’t get into our game at all, we didn’t have any momentum.”

“The injury side of things is tough at the minute, we have lost another two locks tonight so we have to see where we are before we travel to South Africa on Tuesday. Tristan (Davies) has a HIA and Max (Douglas) is in a bit of pain in the changing room with a rib issue, the rugby gods sometimes go against you in certain positions,” added Peel.

“But we need to keep working hard and moving forward. We have lost two games.

“Three months ago, we had the same fixtures in South Africa and the tour went pretty well for us. We also beat the Bulls here last season. We have to go there, look to improve as a rugby team and enjoy each other’s company off the field.”