Owens confident King can replace Davies at Scarlets

The two centres may have crossed on their respective journeys this summer, with King heading to South Wales from Clermont Auvergne, and Davies heading in the other direction on a two-year deal.

New Zealander King returns to the Scarlets after three seasons in France, having played for the GUINNESS PRO12 side between 2005 and 2011.

And Owens, who made 13 PRO12 appearances last season, is convinced King, 33, has returned from France a better player and has the kind of experience the Scarlets need.

"We've obviously lost Jonathan to Clermont but we've brought Regan King who I think has developed his game a lot since being out in France and I think he will almost be a straight swap and we've brought in experience for experience," he said at the GUINNESS PRO12 launch.

"Losing someone like Davies is obviously going to affect you because he's a world class centre but Regan is looking as sharp as I've ever seen him.

"The boys coming in have definitely strengthened the squad and I think now we have that strength in depth that we need throughout the season.

"I wouldn't say we are perfect yet but we've done a lot of hard work throughout the pre season and I think we are set up well for the new season."

Davies' departure wasn't the only major upheaval at Parc y Scarlets this summer, with head coach Simon Easterby leaving to become Ireland's forwards coach, replaced by Wayne Pivac.

But Owens does not feel that the change in coaching regimes has affected the squad too much and is confident a strong start to the season will make the transition smoother.

"Simon is going to be a huge loss for us because he's Scarlet through and through and he understands the standards and values but I think it's been good so far and hopefully it will be a positive start to the season," Owens continued.

"I think Wayne was coming up anyway as a forwards coach with us so that transition was pretty smooth.

"He's got a hell of a lot of experience as a head coach in New Zealand so that was an easy transition to make."

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