Peel puts friendship on hold as Scarlets welcome Newcastle
Dwayne Peel has pressed pause on one of Welsh rugby's great friendships. His Scarlets side host Newcastle Red Bulls in Llanelli on Saturday.
Peel and Stephen Jones usually speak every week. Not this week. Jones is now assistant coach to Newcastle boss Dan McFarland, and Saturday's tie is the European Challenge Cup opener for both clubs, kicking off at 20:00 BST at Parc y Scarlets, according to BBC Sport.
It adds a sharp personal edge to the start of Europe's second-tier competition, the rung below the Champions Cup. Peel is Scarlets head coach. Jones is plotting against him from the away dugout.
The pair go back a long way. They were Scarlets, Wales and British and Irish Lions half-back partners, with Peel at scrum-half feeding Jones at fly-half to run the attack. They later became business partners in a restaurant.
Peel said the silence is strictly temporary. He and Jones are normally in weekly contact but had not spoken in the build-up to the match.
There is a familiar face alongside Peel too. Nigel Davies returned to Scarlets in January to work alongside him as director of rugby. Peel said the move has freed him up to focus on on-field coaching.
Scarlets have had a boost in training. Wales back-row Taine Plumtree, a 17-times capped forward, joined the squad on Tuesday after injury. Prop Corey Domachowski and fly-half Carwyn Leggatt-Jones remain further away from selection.
Reinforcements are coming. New Zealand lock Tom Allen will join Scarlets this week from the Hurricanes, champions of Super Rugby Pacific, the top club competition in the southern hemisphere.
The calendar is busy. After Newcastle, Scarlets travel to South Africa next week to face the Stormers and Bulls in the United Rugby Championship, the league spanning Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and South Africa. They will also meet Lyon, Sharks and Castres in the Challenge Cup pool stage.
The club has billed Saturday, 17 October as a nod to 2006, when both Peel and Jones wore the Scarlets jersey, according to Scarlets.
What makes this stand out is how rare it is. Former teammates coach against each other often. Few were once a half-back pair, where trust is everything. For one week only, that weekly call can wait.
