All four regions have Academies brimful of talent and scouts and agents can be spotted on touchlines at U16 and U18 matches all over the country. Professional teams from all over the UK are chasing the top talent, yet it is local partnerships that often produce the best results.
A classic example of that is the relationship between the Scarlets and Coleg Sir Gâr, which this month celebrates its 20th anniversary. Sir Gâr was the first education and training centre in the Scarlets region to be given the Scarlets Academy Centre of Excellence status.
The club also developed a process of accreditation for other schools and colleges in the region based on Sir Gâr’s model.
Over the 20 years the college has produced 11 Welsh internationals, a Scottish cap and 13 Wales Sevens players, including current captain Luke Treharne. More importantly for the Scarlets, their investment into the relationship has provided a constant stream of regional players.
No fewer than 38 players from Sir Gâr have played in the first-team at Parc y Scarlets. In their latest round of 17 re-signings, no fewer than nine players were Sir Gâr products and there are 18 former students in the full Scarlets squad and Academy.
International players who have benefited from the college and Scarlets academies include two of the Scarlets’ current Wales internationals Samson Lee and Gareth Davies, as well as Adam Jones, Aled Davies, Lou Reed, Gavin Evans, Scott Williams, Rob McCusker, Adam Warren and Josh Adams.
“Since its inception in August, 2000, the relationship between Coleg Sir Gâr and the Scarlets Academy has been, and still is, a blueprint which many try to emulate,” said Jon Daniels, Scarlets general manager of rugby.
“With a focus on the holistic development of the individual, the partnership has developed numerous players and coaches who have gone on to have successful careers both in rugby and in other fields.
“For us, the partnership with Coleg Sir Gâr has been a key strategic pillar in our renowned development pathway and we hope, as we enter the third decade of the partnership, it will continue to go from strength to strength.”
Under the expert guidance of director of rugby Euros Evans, who led his side into the first nine of the 10 finals in the WRU Schools & Colleges League and won five of them, Sir Gâr’s academy ethos is based on providing the best resources and professional support to its students. This includes dedicated, timetabled rugby academy sessions and players being able to access professional support, such as sports analysis, nutrition and specialist coaching.
“Having played rugby and studied around the world, I still look back on my time at Coleg Sir Gâr as some of my happiest memories. Everything, from the experience playing rugby to the standard of teaching, and the people I met along the way, was fantastic,” said Treharne, who also received straight A grades before going on to qualify as a doctor.
Working alongside Evans in the specialist coaching team at Sir Gâr are Lee Tregoning, Matthew Williams as well as Scarlets conditioning coach Josh Rowlands and Scarlets physiotherapist Owain Binding. They all work in close harmony with the Scarlets development pathway manager, Kevin George, and Scarlets academy skills coach, Paul Fisher.
