Wales centre Scott Williams on verge of new club after Scarlets exit

Former Wales centre Scott Williams has been training with Dragons after leaving the Scarlets over the summer.

The 34-year-old, who earned the last of his 58 Wales caps against Ireland in a 2019 World Cup warm-up, left Parc y Scarlets over the summer alongside the recently retired Jonathan Davies.

He had initially been training alone after leaving the Scarlets, but head coach Dai Flanagan has confirmed that the centre has been working with the Dragons, who are set to see Steff Hughes leave the club at the end of the month to join Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby.

Hughes previously served as an understudy to Williams at the Scarlets before joining Dragons in 2022, but his former team-mate could now fill the void he is set to leave should he be offered a contract at Rodney Parade.

While nothing is signed yet, Flanagan said to the BBC recently that the younger players in the squad will benefit from having a "role model" like Williams.

"For sure, he is chomping at the bit," Flanagan said when asked if there is a possibility of the former Wales international moving to Dragons. "He has an itch to scratch and people in that situation are usually determined.

"We only have four midfielders when Steff leaves and I have found out in the past that it can get very thin, very quickly.

"If you lose one then you can lose two or three, so there could be an opportunity to see him in a Dragons shirt one day.

"Scott is a quality man and we are losing Steff, who brings seniority and leadership to our young midfield and back line.

"It's important to put good senior players around people.

"This is a good chance to have Scott involved for a few days and get him ready if an opportunity comes, while it means Joe [Westwood], Aneurin [Owen], Harry [Wilson] and Harri [Ackerman] have a role model.

"Welsh rugby only has a certain amount of role models and Scott is definitely one of them.

"Just having him around, people can pick ideas off him. How long he is here, time will tell."