A disciplinary hearing this week cleared the young second row to play at the weekend after deciding his dangerous tackle in the win over Benetton Treviso on Friday, 23 October didn’t warrant a red card.
Scarlets head coach Glenn Delaney was scratching his head earlier in the week wondering who could fill the No 4 and 5 shirts on Sunday. Last weekend he was forced to move a No 8 up into the second row in Italy.
“We are a bit skinny in the second row, so short in fact that Richard Kelly or even myself might be putting on some boots. That’s not going to happen, but we’ve got a few issues,” said Delaney.
“It has been compounded by a couple of disciplinary issues with some cards and a few injuries to Lewis Rawlins and Josh Helps. Jake Ball is also away with Wales.
“We got through last week by getting Sione Kalamafoni to play in the second row, which is not ideal for him. We don’t really want to play him in the engine room, but it was a case of needs must at that point.”
Better news for Delaney is that Wales international Aaron Shingler is on the mend and back in the building. Capped 27 times, the 33-year-old suffered an injury during lockdown in his leg.
The inflammatory condition was secondary to an illness during lockdown and required clinical management as an inpatient under the care of a rheumatologist.
“Aaron is improving and we have a line of sight to getting him back on the training field in the next 4-6 weeks. That’s brilliant because it is one of those scenarios we haven’t been able to control,” said Delaney.
“He was in yesterday and his energy levels are up. All credit to the rheumatological specialists who are looking after him, they found a plan and it looks like it’s working.
“It’s great having him back around the place when he is smiling and able to start thinking about his footie again.”
