GLENN Delaney spent years trying to snatch players away from the Scarlets but is now fighting to keep hold of the top talent in his Academy.
Delaney used to target the Scarlets academy for new recruits when he was at former side London Irish. Now head coach at the Scarlets, Delaney is amazed at the quality of the young players who are on the verge of breaking into the senior squad and is doing his best to keep them all.
The former Canterbury and Highlanders coach said: “We used to take players from the Scarlets because they were so good. We were constantly grabbing guys and the guys out west have always had wonderful talent. They are a bit similar to Kiwi kids in that they grow up with a ball in their hands with football not as prevalent here.
“The further east you go there is more football so there are kids kicking the ball around rather than passing one.
“The skillset here of the players has always been really good. When you've got players who have got talent and skill who want to play for the club, represent the region and put the shirt on, that's a pretty powerful combination.”
Delaney has a number of top prospects coming through who will be potential targets for Premiership clubs. One young man already making a name for himself is Wales U20 lock Morgan Jones, whose lastgasp tackle on Ben Spencer in their recent Champions Cup victory at Bath won them the game.
With Alun Wyn Jones coming towards the end of his career, Wales are in need of powerful locks and Delaney believes the future is bright for the former Leicester academy member.
“We are really proud of what he's done to date, but we know there's a long way to go so we hope he keeps improving”, said Delaney when asked about Jones' potential. “He's got a good mentor in Richard Kelly who is working with him on lineouts and Ben Franks on the defensive stuff and the scrummaging aspect. “People are more aware of him now so it gets tougher once you come out of that cloak of anonymity and announce yourself to the game.
“I remember the great Martin Johnson talking about the day he had against Dave Baldwin up at Sale. It wasn't someone he thought would give it to him, but it was the hardest game of his career up until that point.
“Those lessons are going to come along for Morgan all the time. I'm delighted with how he's performing. Coming on to run the lineout for 70 odd minutes against some seasoned England players at Bath was a massive step forward.”
Jones isn't the only player Delaney is excited about with Wales age grade stars Jac Morgan, Jac Price, Harri O'Connor, Sam Costelow, Joe Roberts and Osian Knott all coming through the Scarlets ranks. Delaney is also getting ready to unleash 19-stone Carwyn Tuipulotu into professional rugby.
“Athletically Carwyn is phenomenal and we feel a real responsibility to him and his compatriots in that age bracket that they all have the best opportunity to progress”, he said.
“He's not far off. One of the plans we had with Sione Kalamafoni coming to the club was to provide a bit of mentorship on how to train and how to be an ultimate professional.
“He's a young man in a big man's body. It's about making sure we do the right thing by him so he can become the player we all hope he will be. There is a huge amount of optimism surrounding these players.”
STEFFAN THOMAS
