Gareth Davies commits his future to Scarlets

Gareth Davies has extended his stay with Scarlets for a minimum of two more seasons.

The Wales scrum-half has been with the Welsh region since joining their academy in 2006 and has made 120 first-team appearances after making his debut in March 2009.

The 25-year-old's first game for Wales came on their tour of South Africa in the summer of 2014 and he has since become a regular member of Warren Gatland's side, starting all five of their games in the recent World Cup and scoring five tries.

Davies is delighted with his new deal, which runs until the end of the 2017/18 season and comes ahead of the Scarlets' Guinness PRO12 showdown with Ospreys at Parc y Scarlets on Boxing Day.

He told the Scarlets' official website: "I'm very pleased to have signed a new contract to stay at the Scarlets for another couple of seasons.

"Interest from elsewhere has been flattering but I always wanted to remain here and continue my development at the region I've been supporting since I was a child.

"There's great competition for places here in the squad at the moment and both Aled [Davies] and Rhodri [Williams] have been playing some good rugby. Since coming back from the World Cup I've had to challenge them both; it's good to have strength in depth in the position, it keeps us all on our toes.

"I'm looking forward to the next couple of years here in west Wales as we continue to build and we're all looking forward to the big derbies over Christmas."  

Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac said: "Gareth had a very successful World Cup campaign with Wales scoring some good tries but coming back to the region and having to compete for the number nine shirt with Aled and Rhodri keeps the players sharp and ensures that they're always developing and improving."