THE Irish Rugby Union are set to claim victory with the Scarlets in their tug of war over forwards coach Simon Easterby.
The Scarlets were keen to take their former head coach back to the Parc y Scarlets as part of Dwayne Peel's new-look coaching setup.
Harrogate-born former Lion Easterby, 46, has been working in Dublin since 2014 when he took over as forwards coach from John Plumtree.
But the husband of BT Sport presenter Sarra Elgan has maintained close links to the area he moved to in 1999 when he joined Llanelli after starting his career at Leeds Tykes.
He has been linked with a return to South Wales on a couple of occasions, but this time the IRFU have dug in their heels and said they wouldn't release him.
Peel will now have to return to the drawing board to step up his search for a defence coach before the new season kicks off.
