All The Latest News From Parc y Scarlets

It’s been a busy two months since the Scarlets’ last match when they faced Leinster at the Aviva Stadium in the last fixture of another successful season which saw them reach the Semi Finals of the Champions Cup and Finals of the Pro14.
Since then, Wales have completed a successful summer tour with a clean sweep against South Africa and twice against Argentina.
Warren Gatland’s successor as Wales Head Coach has been revealed as Scarlets’ own Wayne Pivac…a decision that was met with a bittersweet reaction from the majority of the supporters. Despite the pride of the region at his well-deserved selection, this little corner of West Wales will be sad to see him leave.
The winning culture and team spirit that Wayne and his team have created at Parc y Scarlets is something that the Board have given assurances will continue as they set about their quest to find his replacement, with Scarlets General Manager of Rugby stating, “The forthcoming season will be hugely significant for us all at the Scarlets and ensuring we build on the momentum and successes from previous seasons will be key.”
“We would also like to be in a position to ensure that Wayne finishes his tenure, here at Parc y Scarlets, with silverware,” he added.
Obviously, there could be others in the Coaching team that will also be joining Wayne, but these won’t be announced until the end of the upcoming season.
Another Scarlets’ departure is that of Scarlets’ Team Manager and winner of last season’s Clubman of the Year award, Mark Taylor who has left the region for ‘personal reasons.’ The board have assured supporters that a short-list has already been drawn up, including two ‘outstanding’ and a further five ‘very good’ candidates and an announcement would be expected soon.
With pre-season training already in full flow, the Scarlets have revealed two friendlies that will take place in August. The newly renamed Bristol Bears will be first up on Saturday 18th August at Carmarthen Park before the squad travel to face Bath on Friday, August 24th at the Rec, the location of probably one of the most convincing Champions’ Cup victories of the season for the men in Scarlet!
As the start of the new season draws closer, last week the new home kit was revealed with the Juno Moneta Group unveiled as the new main kit sponsor in a deal that will last for three years. They are joined by a further seventeen sponsors that has more than doubled the revenue from last season’s jersey, but also received a marmite-like reaction from supporters with some labeling the new design ‘a walking billboard!’
Despite this, the fact that so many companies wish to be associated with the Scarlets brand can only be a positive thing, as Scarlets’ Head of Commercial, Nathan Brew added, “The continued support of local and national companies is the lifeblood of the region’s success and we’re very much looking forward to another successful season both on and off the field.
The launch of the Away kit will take place in a Scarlets on the Beach event in Aberystwyth on August 13th, 2018 as the Region plans to embrace the three counties that form part of the Scarlets region starting with Ceredigion.
And Finally, after weeks of anticipation, the long-awaited Pro14 fixtures were announced this week, with the Champions Cup fixtures expected in a further two weeks. The Scarlets’ face a trip to Ulster in the opening week before welcoming Double Champions Leinster to Parc y Scarlets for the first home fixture of the season. This mouth-watering tie will not only give the Scarlets the opportunity to play Leinster ‘fully loaded’ at home as previous encounters have been played during the Six Nations, but a victory would see the Region maintain it’s home record. The last time the Scarlets lost in the Pro14 at Parc y Scarlets was the opening fixture against Munster way back in September 2016!
Controversially the traditional Boxing Day and New Years Eve Derbies have been dropped this year, with the Scarlets travelling to the Liberty Stadium to face arch rivals the Ospreys on Saturday 22nd December before hosting the Cardiff Blues at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday 29th December. The main reason for this change is player welfare so the squad is not faced with having to play two games in the space of five days.

Scarlets Pro14 Fixtures 2018-19
Sat 1st September Ulster v SCARLETS KO 17.15pm (Kingspan)
Sat 8th September SCARLETS v Leinster KO 19.35pm (Parc y Scarlets)
Sat 15th September SCARLETS v Benetton Rugby KO 17.15pm (Parc y Scarlets)
Sat 22nd September Connacht v SCARLETS KO 17.15pm (The Sportsground)
Sat 29th September SCARLETS v Southern Kings KO 18.30pm (Parc y Scarlets)
Sat 6th October SCARLETS v Ospreys KO 15.00pm (Parc y Scarlets)
Fri 26th October Southern Kings v SCARLETS KO 19.00pm (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium)
Fri 2nd November Edinburgh v SCARLETS KO 19.35pm (Murrayfield)
Fri 23rd November SCARLETS v Ulster KO 19.35pm (Parc y Scarlets)
Sat 1st December Glasgow Warriors v SCARLETS KO 17.15pm (Scotstoun Stadium)
Sat 22nd December Ospreys v SCARLETS KO 15.00pm (Liberty Stadium)
Sat 29th December SCARLETS v Cardiff Blues KO 17.15pm (Parc y Scarlets)
Sat 5th January SCARLETS v Dragons KO 17.15pm (Parc y Scarlets)
Fri 25th January Leinster v SCARLETS KO 19.35pm (RDS Arena)
Sat 16th February Benetton Rugby v SCARLETS KO 18.15pm (Stadio Monigo)
Sun 24th February SCARLETS v Toyota Cheetahs TBC (Parc y Scarlets)
Sat 2nd March SCARLETS v Munster 17.00pm (Parc y Scarlets)
W/E 22nd March Cardiff Blues v SCARLETS
W/E 5th April SCARLETS v Edinburgh
W/E 12th April SCARLETS v Zebre
W/E 26th April Dragons v SCARLETS (Judgement Day)
W/E 3rd May PLAY OFFS
W/E 17TH May SEMI FINALS
Sat 25th May FINALS