'The WRU have to get it right this time' – Wales legend

HERE are few rugby players more celebrated in west Wales than Derek Quinnell.

- Rugby correspondent Steffan Thomas chats to Llanelli, Wales and Lions legend Derek Quinnell about the current state of Welsh rugby and his fears for its future

The 76-year-old has an affinity with the Scarlets which stretches back more than 60 years when he was a young child sitting on the shoulders of his grandfather on the Tanner Bank at the legendary Stradey Park.

Quinnell first represented Llanelli RFC back in 1967 and played in that most celebrated day on Halloween 1972 when the Scarlets beat the All Blacks.

The thought of the Scarlets disappearing from Welsh rugby’s landscape does not bear thinking about for Quinnell but the club is in a fight for its survival.

‘As part of the Welsh Rugby Union's attempt to restructure the professional game it is planning to reduce the number of teams from four to three with one in Cardiff, one in the east and just one in the west.

It does not take a genius to work out one of the Ospreys or Scarlets are in the firing line.

Quinnell’s playing days are long behind him but he still retains an important role as Scarlets president following in the footsteps of Ray Gravell and Phil Bennett, two fabled figures in Welsh rugby folklore.

He feels a great responsibility as a Scarlets board member to ensure the club survives.

“I don’t envy the players and the staff who are here or in any other region who are staring down the barrel of potentially losing their jobs,” he tells the Western Mail.

“It's a horrible time for Welsh rugby in that respect but when you look at the facilities we have here at Parc y Scarlets they are magnificent.

“This is a ground which holds 15,000 and we can get 800 people in here for hospitality.

“When the pandemic was on, this operated as a field hospital as well.

“It also contributes to Carmarthenshire County Council.

“They use the facility to a great extent. So, what we have here is without doubt the best professional club operation in Wales.

“When you look at it compared to the other three there is no comparison.