Scarlets recruitment is impressive despite noise over one exit

Lunchtime on Monday, the Scarlets confirmed the signing of Wales tighthead Henry Thomas from former French champions Castres. All season their supporters had bemoaned their lack of strength at scrum time and no doubt many of them will have had a new tighthead on their Christmas list.

Surely Scarlets fans couldn't have asked for a better signing than Thomas on a £4.5m salary cap? The 32-year-old is a powerful scrummager and an explosive carrier who has excelled in both the English Premiership and the French Top 14.

But later that day the Scarlets announced they were parting ways with Teddy Leatherbarrow. Bizarrely, the Leatherbarrow news overshadowed the Thomas signing somewhat for fans on social media. Leatherbarrow, who was plucked out of BUCS Super Rugby where he impressed for Loughborough, did a decent job for the Scarlets in his solitary season. He was an industrious openside who was in to everything, but losing the 24-year-old is hardly a game changer for them.