'It’s a rebuild' - Dwayne Peel on slew of stars exiting Scarlets

It’s that time of year when a lot of departures are announced and the Scarlets have confirmed some particularly high-profile names on their leaving list ahead of their last home game of the season.

Wales and Lions stars Jonathan Davies, Wyn Jones and the retiring Ken Owens are all moving on, along with the likes of Scott Williams, Dan Jones, Ryan Conbeer and Eduan Swart, plus Ospreys-bound duo Kieran Hardy and Steff Thomas, while Johnny McNicholl left for New Zealand in March.

Conbeer starts on the wing against Ulster, while prop Jones, centre Williams and scrum-half Hardy are among the replacements.

Speaking about letting players go, coach Dwayne Peel said: “It’s always a difficult thing to do.

“But it’s a professional sport, it’s part of what we do. Every year will be the same. There’s no getting away from it.

“Unfortunately, you have to say goodbye to players. All we can do is thank them for their great contribution to this club.”

He added: “It’s a rebuild for us now. We have lost a lot of experience over the last couple of years. It takes time to replace that and it takes a new group to grasp it by the reins.”

This weekend Peel goes up against a team he spent four years with on the coaching staff, while his assistant Jared Payne was there for more than a decade as player and coach.

“They are in the hunt for the play-offs after hard-fought wins against Cardiff and Benetton,” said former Wales scrum-half Peel.

“They are obviously going to come here with that in mind. So it’s going to be a hard challenge.

“But we have been steadily improving and we want to push this Ulster team as much as we can.”

For the visitors, full-back Mike Lowry makes his 100th appearance, while Rob Herring comes into the side at hooker.

Players leaving Scarlets:

Ken Owens: Wales and British & Irish Lions hooker who retired in April, after 274 appearances and captaining for eight seasons.

Jonathan Davies: Former captain who made 209 appearances across two spells and scored 55 tries.

Scott Williams: Played 161 games, scoring 26 tries, and shone in the PRO12 title-winning season.

Dan Jones: Played 153 games over a decade, amassing 682 points and contributing significantly to the 2016-17 title season.

Samson Lee: Retired due to injury after 164 matches across 12 seasons.

Wyn Jones: Made 136 appearances since 2014 and played a key role in the 2017 silverware campaign.

Johnny McNicholl: Returned to New Zealand after 57 tries in 130 games.

Kieran Hardy: 100-cap club member who will join the Ospreys after scoring 25 tries.

Ryan Conbeer: Scored 33 tries in 78 appearances since 2016.

Steff Thomas: Academy product with 58 appearances, moving to the Ospreys.

Iwan Shenton: Back-rower with 12 appearances, currently on loan at Ampthill.

Eduan Swart: Hooker who scored a late match-winning try against Benetton after five appearances.

Joe Jones: Tight-head prop who made eight appearances since November.

Staff leaving:

Sara Davies: Team manager since 2018.

Rhys Jones: Strength and conditioning coach for 16 years.

Academy graduates leaving:

Lewis Morgan: Made five senior appearances.

Luca Giannini: Four senior appearances.

Callum Williams: Senior Academy.

Iestyn Gwilliam: Senior Academy.