Wales fly-half Sam Costelow to stay at Scarlets

Scarlets’ Wales international Sam Costelow has become the latest player to commit his future to the region after signing a new contract.

It puts to bed rumours that he might be returning to Leicester Tigers to replace departing Springbok Handre Pollard.

The 24-year-old fly-half has made 67 appearances and scored 420 points for the Llanelli-based side since joining from Leicester Tigers in 2020.

Capped 18 times by Wales, Costelow recently returned from a shoulder injury to help orchestrate a memorable win over United Rugby Championship leaders Leinster, and is now looking to build further momentum with the club.

“I’m really excited for what’s to come here,” said Costelow. “We’ve got a strong group of players coming through, some great signings, and we’re building something that I want to be a part of.”

It’s more good news for the club after it was confirmed that scrum-half Dane Blacker is set to Llanelli this summer from the Dragons.

“I am really grateful to the Scarlets for giving me this chance,” he said.

“We have a good group here, we’re ticking along nicely and it is a place where I want to be right now. We have had a lot of learnings this season, but it has been a good year.

“It is never nice to get injured, you want to play as much rugby as you can, but being back out there with my mates against Leinster, playing in front of the fans again, it was awesome.

“The support we get here means a massive amount to us as players. I know it is a cliché, but they are our 16th man with their singing and chanting and it really does give you a boost, creates a good feel and gives us energy on the field.”

As regards the last two URC weekends, Costelow stated: “We are under no illusion how tough these games are going to be, but we have spoken this week, we have a chance to write our own history and really kick on as a side.”

He joins a growing list of players to sign new deals at Parc y Scarlets, including Macs Page, Joe Roberts, Tomi Lewis, Eddie James, Taine Plumtree and Kemsley Mathias. Wales international Joe Hawkins has also arrived from Exeter Chiefs, while former Scarlets lock Jake Ball is set to return for a second spell in West Wales.

“It is fantastic that Sam has signed a new deal,” said Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel. “He is a leader in our group, he has a presence on and off the field and it was great to see him back against Leinster after four months or so out with a shoulder injury.

“We all know his quality, he is still only 24, but he has a lot of experience already, both for us and at international level. He is going to have a big part to play in this side over the coming seasons.”