Cai griffiths signing for the scarlets

Looks like a done deal what the feelings of the scarlets supportets good or bad signing

Rugby10 wrote:Looks like a done deal what the feelings of the scarlets supportets good or bad signing

First time I have heard this. Is he going as their social network manager, the guy is all over twitter?
Pretty sure he would make a decent loose head, but he certainly struggles playing tight head.

If Rhys Thomas is going to Worcester it'd make sense as Manu isnt getting any younger and Gardiner is very very young.

Comfort wrote:If Rhys Thomas is going to Worcester it'd make sense as Manu isnt getting any younger and Gardiner is very very young.

Rumoured that Manu is going to the Dragons.

ahh well, certainly would make sense, am surprised the dragons didnt go for Cai, hes not great, but nothing they have currently is either on that side of the scrum. Cai's at least shown glimpses that he can be more than just a capable squad player at regional level.

Gardiner at the scarlets certainly looks like one who can come through strongly, Thomas has upped his scrummaging this season, thatll only continue in England, Mitchell's having a relatively good season too. Looks as though we may now have cover(just) on the tight for Wales. nice.

There was quite a bit of hype around him when he first started playin for the Ospreys but he just hasnt lived up to it. He also seems to give away a few penalties. A bit of time with Garin may turn him into a good scrumager and decent player. Garin shouting at me in training could probably turn me into a decent scrummager, and I used to be a wing.

Dragons have been holding talks with ceri jones has hes not getting game time in worcster has 1 year left on contract tho, gardiner has 2 offers from aviva clubs

I'm not a fan of Cai to be honest, could be a good player, but too much of a penalty machine imo. If someone can sort him out, he can be a good player.

Looking at what we have at the Scarlets at the moment. Rhys Thomas is most likely gone, Manu is NWQ and I believe he is also going. Peter Edwards is no spring chicken and also NWQ (i believe). Simon Gardener is a good prospect, however he seems to have an attitude problem, and I don't believe he and Nigel are particularly fond of each other. Rhodri Jones/Phil John are looseheads who can cover tighthead at a push. And then there is the young lad (who's name I can't remember, think its Samson Lee but not sure) who has yet to pull on a Scarlets jersey, but who is meant to be a good prospect, but only time will tell.

We do seem to need to strengthen in this area. Griffiths may well be a decent signing, proving we can do what we did with Rhys Thomas, and try to reduce his silly tendency to give away pens, and teach him to scrummage properly. Also I doubt he will come with as hefty a price tag as the likes of Rhys Gill, Eifion Lewis-Roberts and the likes.

What team is Rhys Thomas heading off to then?

Worcester are meant to be interested in Rhys Thomas. Phil Davies who signed him for the Scarlets is at Worcester, and Rhys' contract with us ends this season.

Dominic Dicoco wrote:

Comfort wrote:If Rhys Thomas is going to Worcester it'd make sense as Manu isnt getting any younger and Gardiner is very very young.

Rumoured that Manu is going to the Dragons.

WTF Why?

Surely with money from Charteris we can afford better than him.

Manu is off to france , dragon are in talks with ceri jones the worcster tight head , he has another year on his contract but they are willing to leave him go as rhys t is going to them

Thank God we aren't going for Manu - dont need anymore over the hill SH players ta.

Ceri Jones could work out nice for us. As could Ritchie Rees

dragon are in talks with ceri jones the worcster tight head

I thought he was a loosehead?

If Scarlets are offloading some propping wages are they going to have some cash spare for big Effion-Roberts? Looks like the Ospreys won't be bidding for him with Adam Jones staying.

Ceri is a tight head but can play loosehead

I hope your pulling my leg with the Manu signing - He was a Loosehead converted to Tighthead and not great for the Scarlets. A waste of money he would be.

Thought Ceri was also a Loosehead by trade and given his age he would be another rubbish aquisition.

To be honest looking at the out of contract players at other regions the ones I would be targeting is:-

Lou Reed & Dom Day (Scarlets) - The offer from Irish for Day is around 120k and I would have thought the money Charteris was on would cover that.

I'd also grab Fenby and Gareth Davies as well as they wouldnt be to expensive and I rate them both.

I'd probably go in for Richie Rees as well for the starting 9 berth as Wayne Evans has not re-signed yet and I never understood the Bedford signing.

I can only assume M. Thomas, A. Brew, J. Tovey & W. Evans are targets as no new contract news and I would have thought Dragons would have tried to tie those up early.

I know we need a Tighthead but all the best ones are signed up to the bigger clubs. So I'd rather see them continue with Nathan Buck there.

I would love to see a Lydiate, Grooves & Falatau Backrow next season too. Grooves has really impressed me and given the chance to play with those 2 would add to his game. Sadly the coach is not picking him.

rugby 10:

do you have a source/link to the cai griffiths signing?

scarletspiderman: where did you hear about gardiner attitude? nigel seems to have fallen out with a few players during his time at the scarlet like nathan brew, welch etc....but i guess its hard as manager to keep all the players happy.

though manu was going back to nz? ceri jones is a gwent boy, so going back the dragons would make sense. his experience would help bring the likes of phil price, hugh gustafson on. scarlets really need to make effort to keep both lou reed and dominic day at the region.

sam:

although we might be dropping propping wages in rhys and manu, i'm guess the majority of those savings will be absorbed renewing jonathan davies's, dominic day, gareth davies contracts.

Now Ceri Jones coming in I would be happy with but not Manu please.

I think Cai will be a seriously good loosey with some good coaching, the lad is an animal in the gym, he put a vid on twitter today of him squatting 260kg x2,
He has chatted with me a few times on twitter about gym work and he seems a dedicated athlete, powercleaning 100kg+ for reps!
He just needs some direction in his scrummaging.

I really hope he is coming to Scarlets.

Normally we get a hint that somebody is moving but this is the first time I heard this.

Cai can't scrummage and Scarlets are not renowned for their scrum, so I don't see what the benefit could be to either? From a Dragons perspective I think Ceri Jones could be a good signing and with Nathan Buck who is a very big lad will give us some solidity up front. It's a shame we're set to lose Charteris though. Hopefully it's not Manu as we have signed enough rejects over the past 5 years which has got us nowhere.

I just came off the Ospreys forum, the impression I got is good ridance and did he want a lift down west!

cai twittered last night when he was sent this link:

"don't believe everything you read"

so guessing it's all agents/paper talk at the moment.

pioden gorllewin wrote:scarletspiderman: where did you hear about gardiner attitude? nigel seems to have fallen out with a few players during his time at the scarlet like nathan brew, welch etc....but i guess its hard as manager to keep all the players happy.

He is from the same area as me, and I have mates who are his mates etc. From the way they tell it he has the 'I've made it attitude', and it does apparently get peoples backs up, or so my sources say. Personally I think he is a tidy player, and given the right coaching could be a handy player to have at the Scarlets but time will tell.

I think people are being a bit harsh on Manu - granted he's nowhere near the best NWQ player with the regions but after a shaky start he's done well, helped us get parity (or better) in the scrum against some very good teams, and has done his bit in the loose - I'd def be upset with loosing both him and R Thomas (one I'd be happy to see go but not both) unless we get a good replacement - the problem is that we'll need a replacement soon on the other side of the scrum as Iestyn isn't getting any younger and Rhodri is still pretty young.

If Garin Jenkins can help Rhys "Rollerskates" Thomas with his scrummaging, I've no doubt he can improve Cai Griffiths.

Rhys has played to a decent level this season, but hes not justifying his wage. They should keep Manu if either of them, Manus getting on mind, but I hope they push Gardiner through, its not a bad thing to have a bit of attitude in the front row, and he looked full of promise until his injury.

I really hope Gardiner can stay injury free as he looks very very promising, such a shame he broke his arm at such a crucial time last season. It'll be a big risk signing Cai, as although people speak of him highly he's never proven himself or followed through on any potential - and signing him just because we think our coach can improve him is a risk - particularly when he's been an understudy to Adam Jones so should have learnt a lot from that.

What is a Cai Griffiths?