LONG READ Dwayne Peel: 'It's hard to switch off in this role. Finding enjoyment is key'

As we walk into the Scarlets training barn during a pre-season session, Dwayne Peel tells me: “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a crop of players with this much potential as a big group.”

It’s hard to recall such a young, widely unfamiliar Scarlets squad – their fresh faces flushed with exertion as they become accustomed to the conditioning demands of professional rugby.

“It’s not only the Under-18s but the 19s and the U20s boys,” Peel continues. “Harry Thomas, Isaac Young, Macs Page, Josh Morse…down to our 18s. The key for us is to make sure when they come here they can thrive in this environment. That in itself poses a challenge.”

The younger crop have recently savoured the taste of a winning environment, as the U18s stormed to a five-try victory over local rivals Ospreys to clinch the regional age grade title earlier this year.

But the step up is unforgiving and the URC uncompromising. Up against squads with vaunted depth and higher budgets, the energy of youth alone will not be sufficient in reviving a team which recorded just five wins last season.

“Momentum was one factor,” reflects Peel of his third season as head coach. “We obviously lost a lot of players, inconsistency in selection led to inconsistency in performance and we found ourselves in a rut.”

There is no denying Peel was at times dealt a tough hand. Fly-half Sam Costelow’s first appearance for Scarlets was on New Year’s Day, having suffered an injury for Wales playing against the Barbarians on his return from the World Cup. Scarlets fans are also yet to see Taine Plumtree, Vaea Fifita and Josh Macleod fit for selection in the same back row.

“But it’s not just momentum,” Peel adds. “We struggled in certain parts of the game, and just looked like we weren’t enjoying our rugby.”

We recognise there are times where we haven’t been competing. We need to own that and move on.

For the Scarlets, attacking ambition and enjoyment has been at the core of the club’s identity, a philosophy which played its part in two league title wins – one in 2003-04, the first season of the regional sides, the second in 2016-17 – and runs like a golden thread through the town’s lore. But living up to a club’s ethos can be both a blessing and a burden.

“The history of the club will always be a driver but the group has to have its own identity as well – that’s something we needed to work on over the past five or six months. We recognise there are times where we haven’t been competing. We need to own that and move on. Historically we’ve been a club which plays an exciting brand of rugby and been a tough, uncompromising team. Of course we want to be all those things, we want to compete. We love the brand and we’re working hard to make sure we’re respected and competing on the field.”

The Scarlets finished last season ranked in the top half of the table for offloads and evading tackles and were ranked third for the percentage of breaks leading to tries – all of which hint at the attacking ambition associated with the club.

But the positives are few and far between. Two seasons previously, Peel’s side averaged 27 points a game. Last term saw the Scarlets finish with their lowest average points scored (17.39) and highest average points conceded (31.9) in the league. Crucially, they were also ranked in the bottom four for lineout, maul and gainline success.

Recruitment in the tight-five department was something Peel recognised as the main area of concern, with hooker Marnus van der Merwe, lock Max Douglas and props Alec Hepburn and Henry Thomas all arriving over the summer.

“That’s been our principal focus really. We knew that we needed to bolster in that area for depth. I believe that we brought in the right level of experience and quality to the group. The way we want to play the game – they add a bit of ballast and a bit of power.  We need to make sure our set piece is up to standard.

Vaea’s a man who holds high standards. When we talk about young guys coming through and role models, he’s definitely one of those guys.

“From our general play we want to be able to be a team that plays quickly at the gain-line. We want to be able to move the ball. From a defensive perspective, we took strides towards the end of the year. We had aggression in our line speed to try and stop teams. There’s multiple areas that we’ve worked on but physicality and staying in the fight – that’s probably an area that we can gain the most from.”

New faces were welcomed but just as significant was retaining Tongan duo Sam Lousi and Vaea Fifita, players’ player of the season Alex Craig and centre Johnny Williams.

“Those are all guys who have an impact on the game. To keep them and strengthen the pack on top of that is massive. Vaea enjoys it here, he was keen to extend and it makes perfect sense. His impact off the field is just as important – he drives standards hard especially around the forward areas. He’s a man who holds high standards. When we talk about young guys coming through and role models and people to learn off, he’s definitely one of those guys.”

It is hard to under-estimate the influence of certain key imports in a league where competitors continue to strengthen their already deep squads. Leinster have signed All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett, South Africa lock RG Snyman and French prop Rabah Slimani while two-time World Cup-winning skipper Siya Kolisi is rejoining a host of other Springboks at the Sharks.

In the wake of the departure of Ken Owens, Jonathan Davies and Scott Williams, who were cultural leaders as well as world-class players, young back-rows like Keanu Evans, Tian Sparrow, Dom Kossuth, Osian Williams and Sam Williams could do a lot worse than a former All Black (Fifita) to lean upon.

Peel too will benefit by having a mentor this season in recently-appointed rugby director Leigh Jones. This is one of many changes at the Scarlets, also including Jon Daniels’ move from rugby general manager to managing director.

It’s been a challenge both on and off the field really if I’m being perfectly honest

“We’ve only been together a short while but I’ve really enjoyed working with him,” Peel said of Jones. “I can already see the benefits of what he’s going to be doing at the club, allowing me to have more time on the rugby side of things. He’s a guy I can have a conversation with around certain areas. He’ll manage a lot of the off-field stuff, which so far has been a great help as it’s a full-on job as it is. It’s been a challenge both on and off the field really if I’m being perfectly honest.”

Full-on would be one way of putting it. An ever-changing coaching team saw an old friend of Peel’s, Gareth Williams, lose his role as defence coach last season. He is now the Scarlets’ academy and pathway manager. On the pitch, the Scarlets are still looking for their first win against top-four opponents since 2018. So do the results take their toll?

“It’s hard to switch off in this role really, you do tend to dwell on things. But there comes a point where you’ve got to move on, although my wife will probably disagree. They live everything you go through but I’ve been lucky I’ve not been out of this game. I’ve never had another job so you do get used to it. The pressure is the pressure. The enjoyment you get out of it is really rewarding. But it’s definitely harder being the wife of a coach than a player. Finding enjoyment is key.”

At a time where more youngsters are being blooded in the URC in Wales than ever before, enjoyment is now surely the cornerstone to any healthy culture.

Our summer will soon feel like a brief interlude in what’s been a season of dark clouds. But today is a sunny day, and you’ve got to treasure those.