'Delighted' Blackett names his new club 17 days after Wasps' demise

Ex-Wasps boss Lee Blackett has been named as Dwyane Peel’s new assistant coach at Scarlets 17 days after his Gallagher Premiership club fell into administration with the loss of 167 player and staff jobs. Numerous high-profile names have so far found work elsewhere following the initial shock of being made redundant and former head coach Blackett has become the latest name on that list with his move to west Wales to fill a vacancy that has existed for quite some time.

A statement read: “Scarlets can confirm that Lee Blackett, formerly the head coach of Wasps, will be taking up the role of backs and skills coach as part of Dwayne Peel’s coaching set-up. He will fill the vacant role left by Dai Flanagan with immediate effect to the end of the current season.

“Blackett’s first game with the Scarlets will be the round eight URC clash against the Stormers in Cape Town on November 25.”

Scarlets head coach Peel said: “I am really pleased to welcome Lee to the team here at Parc y Scarlets. He is a highly respected backs and attack coach who did a great job in a similar role with Wasps when he took over from Stephen Jones in 2015. During his time in that role, Wasps reached the 2017 Premiership final and as head coach, Lee led them to the 2020 final.”

Blackett added: “When Dwayne reached out to me for a discussion about the backs and skills coach role at the Scarlets, I was delighted. Our rugby philosophies are well aligned and I am very excited to play a part in what Dwayne is developing at the Scarlets. It’s also great to be joining a team that has such a unique place in its community and an amazing club history spanning 150 years.”

Scarlets general manager Jon Daniels said: “We have taken our time to fill the role vacated by Dai Flanagan as we wanted to make sure we got the best available person and coach. In Lee, we feel we have someone who ticks both boxes. We look forward to welcoming Lee to Parc y Scarlets and I know he is excited to get stuck into preparations for an exciting next phase of URC and European fixtures.”