Jake Ball closing in on shock Welsh rugby return just months after retiring

The Wales international is being targeted by the Scarlets with a deal close to being done

The Scarlets are targeting the signing of former lock Jake Ball, WalesOnline understands.

The 33-year-old had been due to retire from rugby at the end of the season, but is in talks over a potential return to west Wales, where he become a hugely popular figure and key player for the national team. He has been playing for Japanese side NEC Green Rockets for the past few years after initially leaving Wales in 2021 to return to Australia and be with his family.

Ball initially moved to Wales from Australia at the age of 21, eventually playing 133 games for the Scarlets and winning a half century of international caps.

He announced in November last year that he would be retiring at the end of the current season to prioritise his family and put more time and effort into his new supplement company Veritroo.

But despite his retirement statement, he didn’t actually wait until the end of the season, leaving Japan at the end of last year.

Green Rockets revealed on December 29 Ball had left the club due to family reasons, with the second row saying in a statement: “I have returned to Australia for family reasons. I would like to wish all the players and staff of NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu all the best for this season and the future.

“I would like to thank the CREW for your support over the last three years.”

However, earlier this month Ball took to X, formerly Twitter, to tease fans over a possible rugby comeback.

He posted a picture of a new pair of Adidas boots, with the caption: “This isn’t just about boots. It’s about chapters. Poll below.” The poll has the options of: ‘Close this chapter’ or ‘Write one more’, with a rugby emoji attached.

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It now appears he could indeed be close to writing one more, and could yet come back into the Wales reckoning, despite his age, if the move happens.

It’s understood a deal is not yet complete, with Scarlets also thought to be assessing other second row options.

The development comes on the day the Scarlets confirmed lock Alex Craig is leaving for Glasgow at the end of the season.

If Ball does return, he will look slightly different to when he left.

He has completely transformed his body and lifestyle over the last few years, doing away with “processed junk” and overhauling his diet to focus on “real food”.

“Physically, I’m in a great place,” Ball told WalesOnline in December. “I used to be quite bad, I thought I was eating healthily at the time but I still used to eat a lot of highly processed food. Looking back at pictures, as well. I look back at quite a lot of pictures of me and I’m quite swollen in the face and carrying quite a lot of fluid and stuff like that. You can read to full interview here.