Scarlets target coach decision this month

THE Scarlets have revealed they are planning to make a decision on who will be their next head coach by the end of the month.

Speculation is mounting as to who will replace Wayne Pivac at Parc y Scarlets next season as the New Zealander prepares to take over the Wales reins from Warren Gatland following the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Pivac’s imminent departure will leave a significant void in West Wales, but the Scarlets are confident they are well on the way to finding a replacement that can continue his impressive work.

After a global search, the Scarlets are down to a handful of remaining candidates and general manager of rugby Jon Daniels says he hopes to go to the Scarlets board with his preferred choice within a couple of weeks.

“We are currently working our way through our shortlist of three to five candidates,” said Daniels in an interview with Walesonline. “Out of that shortlist of three to five, we have got a couple more conversations to have and then I believe within the next couple of weeks we will be in a position to make a recommendation to the board about our preferred candidate.

“It has been an interesting process and we are a fair way down the track.

“We started with a long list which we whittled down and then we created our own profile internally of the candidates based on the way their teams have performed and identified their rugby philosophy.

“We have tried to speak to them in different environments. We have had formal type interviews and we have also had dinner with them just to find out not just about their rugby, but them as people and the culture and environment they like to build.

“We have also taken references from players and coaches who have worked with the coaches on the shortlist. It has been high quality. Everyone on that shortlist has got significant, either Super Ruby or PRO14, experience.”

Daniels said he was unable to comment on the names who have already been linked to the post – Kiwis Kieran Crowley and Paul Feeney have emerged in recent weeks. There has also been plenty of speculation surrounding the future of Pivac’s assistant Stephen Jones, who could join him as No2 in the Wales camp.

“I understand that Wayne is looking at his team, but there has been nothing on Stephen or any other coaches to be honest with you,” said Daniels.

“The WRU have been quite clear about that from the off. They wanted that to be a lot further down the line.

“They said from the off that didn’t expect to be having those conversations and confirming Wayne’s backroom team now and that is how it is panning out. Once again, thankfully, the communication between us and the WRU through all of this has been fantastic. They are true to their word on that.”

For the first time since the inception of regional rugby, there has been no Welsh coach at the helm of the our professional sides this season.

Before Pivac’s arrival, the Scarlets had a strong tradition of appointing from within, but Daniels insist they have to be single-minded in their approach.

“We don’t set out to appoint a Welsh coach or a New Zealander or any other coach. We set out with criteria for the best coach to come in here and make us successful,” he said.

“Frankly, if that head coach is from Mars or Timbuktu that is what we should do. That is what our competitors will do. We can’t limit our ambitions. It is a performance environment, there is no room for sentiment.”