Eddie James has extended his contract with the Scarlets to give the west Wales region a further boost ahead of the new season.
The 11-times capped Wales centre has become a huge influence in the Scarlets’ midfield and joins a host of other players in committing their futures to the club.
Ahead of the upcoming season no fewer than 12 players have now signed new contracts: Fletcher Anderson, Josh Macleod, Henry Thomas, Gareth Davies, Dan Davis, Sam Lousi, Harri O’Connor, Jac Davies, Will Evans, Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, Gabe Hawley and now James.
The club have also added 10 new signings to their squad: former Wales outside half Gareth Anscombe, props Chris Apoua and Corey Domachowski, second rows Harvey Cuckson, Alex Groves and Tom Allen, hookers John McKee and George Roberts, full-back Isaac Murray-Macgregor and All Black Cullen Grace.
James learned his ruby in the junior section at Super Rygbi Cymru club Carmarthen Quins before starring for Coleg Sir Gâr and coming through the ranks of the Academy to play for Wales U18 and U20. Since then, the 6ft 4in, 104kg centre has gone on to play 53 times for the Scarlets senior side.
“Growing up in the region and supporting the Scarlets as a youngster, the club means a huge amount to me. It’s home to me and so it was an easy decision to extend my contract,” said James.
“The new signings have added to the talent we already have and there’s a clear ambition about where we want to go as a group. There’s competition building and that will push standards and make us a better team.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in with the boys next week, getting my head down in training and building towards a massive opening URC game of the season against Cardiff here at Parc y Scarlets.”
James is one of four international centres available to head coach Dwayne Peel, along with Johnny Williams, Joe Hawkins and Joe Roberts, and the Scarlets also have Macs Page to play in midfield. It means there will be plenty of competition
“Having players like Eddie at the heart of what we’re building is every bit as important as new players coming into the squad,” said Scarlets Director of Rugby, Nigel Davies.
“We’re proud of our ethos of developing our own players and we want to give our young Welsh players an environment in which they know they can achieve their ambitions in a Scarlets jersey.
“Eddie has come through our pathway, represented Wales through the age grades and is now an established international player. That’s a journey we want other young players to mirror across our region and to be able to see and believe in.
“The exciting thing with Eddie is that there is still so much more to come from him. He’s only 24 and has some outstanding physical qualities. He’s big, powerful and explosive, but he’s also got the skill set to play the type of rugby we’re building here.”