Well I was hugely impressed. I thought their pack went extremely well on the weekend, their ball retention was great. Looking at the squad there's a decent amount of depth there, let's just hope they're luck is a little better than the previous few seasons in terms of injury.
This is how I see the Scarlets squad, first choice first, second second etc.
01 Rhodri Jones, Phil John, Rob Evans, Peter Edwards.
02 Ken Owens, Matthew Rees (although his throwing heeds to improve), Kirby Myhill, Emyr Phillips.
03 Deacon Manu, Samson Lee, Jacobus Adriaanse.
04 George Earle, Sione Timani, Tomas Vallejos Cinalli (could move up the pecking order).
05 Richard Kelly, Aaron Shingler, Tomas Vallejos Cinalli (again could become first choice).
06 Aaron Shingler, Josh Turnbull, Rob McCusker.
07 Josh Turnbull, Daniel Thomas (think he'll overtake Turnbull at 7 soon), Rob McCusker.
08 Rob McCusker, Kieran Murphy, ??
09 Tavis Knoyle (if he can keep that kinda performances up), Gareth Davies, Rhodri Williams, Aled Davies ( Draggs is adamant Aled Davies is the future, I think I've got the right player).
10 Rhys Priestland, Aled Thomas, Dan Newton (probably missing someone).
11 Morgan Stoddart, Andy Fenby, Lee Williams.
12 Scott Williams, Gareth Owen, Nic Reynolds.
13 Jon Davies, Gareth Maul, Adam Warren.
14 George North, Kristian Phillips, Dale Ford.
14 Liam Williams, Morgan Stoddart, Rhys Priestland.
Probably plenty I'm missing. I've not seen much of the likes of Owen Williams and Jordan Williams at 10 to rate them, while I'm sure there's more wingers etc. in the region who could step-up.
At looshead I'm expecting big things from Rob Evans, so hopefully he and Rhodri Jones will battle it out for the top spot. Two very young, very promising players, nice. Samson Lee is another exciting prospect on the tight, whilst Adriaanse is supposed to be a rock in the scrum, just what the Scarlets have needed. The Scarlets have unbelievable strength at hooker. Matthew Rees really does have to improve to stay in contention, Myhill could overtake him when given the chance, after all Myhill is probably the most exciting of the lot (although Ken Owens is still something a little special I feel). The Scarlets could maybe do with one more second row to cover all eventualities, hopefully there's someone at one of their feeder clubs ready to step-up if required. Regardless, I feel they've made some good signing here, Earle looked very impressive against Leinster, and Kelly was solid if unspectacular. I've heard good things about Cinalli, so he may figure heavily as well. The backrow is shaping up very nicely indeed. The balance was good v Leinster with Shingler, Turnbull and McCusker. I think McCusker will continue as first choice 8 where he was so impressive, and Shingler really adds something special at 6. I'm not totally convinced with Turnbull at 7, I feel he's better suited to blindside. I really hope we see plenty of Daniel Thomas, because he's a genuine openside, with genuine potential. The backrow could be a little lightweight with Shingler, Thomas and McCusker though, so getting the balance correct may be difficult.
There's plenty of talent at scrum half, but no-one has really shown consistency yet. If Knoyle can repeat Saturday's form, then he's a great player to have, really strong, but excellent service. But he struggled with form last season so we'll have to wait and see. Rhodri Williams and Gareth Davies are both very capable, very traditional scrum halves. I'm sure Draggs has been banging on about Aled Davies (was it you Draggs, and have I got the correct player?). Will be interesting to see how this battle develops over the season. I thought Aled Thomas had a great game v Leinster. Hopefully this pushes Priestland to rediscover his 2011 form, because I still feel that Priestland is the Scarlets and possibly Wales' best option, but he needs to up his game considerably. Scott Williams and Jon Davies should continue to form a formidable partnership in the center. Both are big and strong, but exciting players that really compliment the way the Scarlets try to play the game. Both need to be less selfish though, because both have the tendency to go for the line themselves when there's a player in a better position outside of them. This was evident on Sat when Williams should have passed out to North after making a great sidestep, luckily the try came anyway after a floated pass from Knoyle, but the try should have come one phase earlier. I may be a bit biased re Gareth Owen, but he's been a favorite of mine for a long time. His flamboyance should fit in well at the Scarlets, and if he's allowed a run of games (something the Ospreys never gave him), then we could see him at his best. I still think back to how sublime he was at the 2007 U18 WC and 2008 JWC. We can't forget the likes of Maul, Warren and Reynolds either. Out wide the Scarlets have genuine pace and power. Little needs to be said about North, but Fenby is rapidly improving as a player. I still feel he loses the ball a little too often, but he also creates and scores some great tries. Juries out on him, but Stoddart is close to a return by all accounts which is great news. At fullback Liam Williams is really developing as a player. He's a great all round fullback that should be really pushing for a Wales place this season. He's also a bit of a nutter, who puts his body on the line time and time again (reminds me a little of JPR).
Time will tell whether the Scarlets will continue with a similar form to how they started, and whether they'll genuinely compete in the HC.
