It is widely accepted that the Llanelli Scarlets was the first region to embrace the concept of regionalisation fully. The fixtures at the Racecourse in Wrexham, the Regional Feeder and Alliance Club system and the Schools and Colleges Centre of Excellence and Centre of Development Accreditation programme are evidence of this. It is the aim of the Regional Development Section to create a co-ordinated and lasting programme for the development of the region.
Due to the large geographical area of the region, we at the Scarlets believe the key to its development is through partnerships. Our most significant partners are the Welsh Rugby Union and their technical staff. As a result, since the regionalisation of rugby we have worked tirelessly in developing a working relationship with WRU staff which enables us to pool the resources available to follow mutually agreed objectives.
Since early 2005 the Welsh Rugby Union re-defined the roles of the District Directors of Rugby into High Performance and Community roles. Therefore, Darryl Hill (Formerly District Director of District G) is now Regional High Performance Manager for the Scarlets and Jeff Roach (formerly District Director of District F) is now Community Rugby Manager (inc. Coach Education) for Carmarthenshire.
Kim Norkett (District Director of District H) and Austin Thomas (District Director of District J) are primarily responsible for Community Rugby within Pembrokeshire and North Wales respectively but they also have a responsibility to deliver the Regional Player Development Programme devised by Darryl Hill. This, once again is due to the geography of the region.
As well as the High Performance and Community Rugby departments there is the Regional Academy. This is co-ordinated by Academy Manager Kevin George. His re-mit is to deliver a world class holistic academy programme to those players who have the potential to play professional rugby for the Scarlets and Wales.
The final department within the Regional Development Section is the Semi Professional Development department. This is co-ordinated by Jon Daniels as one of the key areas of the Regional Rugby Programme. This is seen by us at the Scarlets as a key area as it bridges the gap between the Professional Game and Regional Club Rugby.
As is probably apparent by now, there are many different elements to the development of rugby within the region, hence the need for partnerships to resource these elements. As Scarlets Regional Programme Manager my role is to facilitate these relationships and to co-ordinate the processes required to ensure the Scarlets Regional Development Programme remains the most comprehensive and proactive in Wales.
The links below will give you a more in-depth insight into the work of each Section.
D. Jonathan Daniels
Llanelli Scarlets
Regional Programme Manager
Carmarthen Quins RFC
Morfa Lane
Carmarthen
SA31 2AY
Tel: 01267 234778
Llandovery RFC
Church Bank Playing Fields
Llandovery
Carmarthenshire
SA20 0BA
Tel: 01550 721110 (Office)
Tel: 01550 721389 (Clubhouse)
Llanelli RFC
Stradey Park
Llanelli
Carmarthenshire
SA15 4BT
Tel: 01554 783900 (Office)
Tel: 0871 8718088 (Ticketline)
Narberth RFC
The Clubhouse
Lewis-Lloyd Ground
Spring Gardens
Narberth
SA67 7BT
Tel: 01834 860462