Javan Sebastian joins Edinburgh Rugby on two-year deal from Scarlets

Edinburgh have signed the Scotland international prop Javan Sebastian and he will join the club in the summer from Scarlets. The 28-year-old tighthead has signed a two-year deal.

Javan Sebastian during his Scotland debut against Japan at BT Murrayfield in November 2021. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Born and raised in Wales, he switched allegiance to Scotland who he qualifies for through his Edinburgh-born father. He has been capped three times by Scotland, having made his international debut against Japan in November 2021. His last Test appearance was in the win over Argentina in Salta in the summer. He is part of Gregor Townsend’s squad for the Six Nations but hasn’t featured in the wins over England and Wales.

His arrival will coincide with the departure of another tighthead, Murray McCallum, who announced this week that he would be moving to Newcastle Falcons in the summer. McCallum joined Edinburgh recently on a short-term deal following the financial collapse of Worcester Warriors.

Sebastian has spent the vast majority of his professional career with the Scarlets and he admitted it would be tough to leave the Llanelli-based club. “Leaving Scarlets certainly wasn’t an easy decision and I’ve got a huge debt of gratitude to the club,” he said. “They are my home region and gave me my first opportunity to play professionally. However, this move to Edinburgh is massively exciting and it’s an opportunity that I genuinely can’t wait to get stuck into. The club is really ambitious with a talented squad and cracking new stadium, and Edinburgh is a beautiful city.

“This is a fresh challenge for me and one that really excites me because of my aspirations to continue playing international rugby. Hopefully I can keep myself in a strong position with Scotland by playing consistently for Edinburgh. I obviously know quite a lot of the Edinburgh boys from Scotland camp. I can’t wait to link up with the squad this summer and hit the ground running.”

Sebastian has played in Scotland previously, with Ayr, during a season-long partnership contract with Glasgow Warriors in 2015-16. Born in Carmarthen, he was part of the Scarlets academy and represented Wales at both U16 and U18 levels. Following his stint at Scotstoun, Sebastian returned to Scarlets at the start of the 2017-18 season, making his Pro14 debut against Cheetahs in February 2019. He was called up to the Scotland squad for the summer 2021 fixtures against England A, Georgia and Romania, all of which were eventually cancelled due to Covid-19.

Mike Blair, the Edinburgh coach, was in interim charge of Scotland that summer while Townsend was with the British and Irish Lions in South Africa, and he said he was delighted to bring him to the capital. “Javan is a player that we’ve been able to track for some time and we’ve been hugely impressed with his performances for both Scarlets and Scotland,” said Blair. “He’s an excellent scrummager which we want to develop into his super strength and he has the skill set to thrive in our environment. We know the Scotland coaches and staff are impressed with his work on the tighthead side and what he brings to the position. He’s also a great guy who will fit in well with our culture here at Edinburgh.”

Edinburgh announced last week that loosehead prop Robin Hislop would be joining them next season from Saracens, also on a two-year deal.