Groves puts heart and soul into Scarlets move — SkimNews
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- Alex Groves underwent eight-hour open heart surgery in February 2024 to repair an aneurysm on his aortic artery — his surgeon said one wrong hit to the chest before the discovery could have killed him in seconds.
- The 6ft 9in lock's heart trouble was first flagged as a leaky valve during a 2021 pre-season screening at Bristol, with deterioration diagnosed at Sale Sharks in 2022; the aneurysm was missed in earlier MRIs because the machines are not built for tall, broad-shouldered people.
- Groves learned the aneurysm required urgent surgery on 5 January 2024 — his 23rd birthday — in a meeting with his parents, who had to relay the information afterward because he said he 'completely shut off' and retained nothing.
- After nine months of recovery, Groves was cleared to play in November 2024 and returned via a loan to Championship side Caldy RFC in late December, 10 months after his operation.
- South Africa-born Groves, a former England Under-20s Grand Slam winner, joined Scarlets permanently for the 2026-27 season and made his competitive debut as a replacement in a 21-15 defeat to Cardiff.
- Scarlets supporters his family met in Johannesburg during the Lions game are now sponsoring Groves and helped him with accommodation during his first six weeks in Llanelli, initially in a flat above a pub.
Why it matters: Groves' case is a rare, visible example of an elite cardiac screening programme catching — and initially missing — a condition that his surgeon said would have killed him on impact within seconds. The screening that saved him is unavailable to the general public without symptoms, and he is the only reason it was found at all.
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