Scarlets sign Olly Barkley from Grenoble

Former England back Olly Barkley has joined Scarlets for the remainder of the season.

Barkley, 32, joins on a four-month deal after being released by French Top 14 club Grenoble.

The former Bath and Gloucester player can fill the fly-half, centre or full-back roles and has won 23 England caps.

"I'm excited to be joining the Scarlets and looking forward to getting plenty of game time after a frustrating period at Grenoble," Barkley said.

Barkley joined Grenoble after a short spell at Racing Metro but leaves the French club a year early as he did not share the same "rugby concept" as Grenoble director of rugby Fabrice Landreau.

The player has worked with former Ireland coach Mark Tainton, who is based at Parc y Scarlets until the end of this season, and says that was a major factor in his decision to join the Welsh region.

"I know Mark Tainton from earlier on in my career," Barkley said.

"Once I'd spoken to him about the set-up at the Scarlets and had the opportunity to work with him and [head coach] Simon Easterby, who I have a lot of respect for as a player and coach, it was a very exciting prospect.

"The Scarlets squad has some fantastic players and I hope I can add something in the coming months.

"I look forward to working with Simon and his coaching team and joining the players to try and be part of an ambitious team keen make an impact for the rest of the season."