Scarlets Head Coach Nigel Davies says Saturday’s fixture against the Cardiff Blues at Parc y Scarlets will have the feeling of a cup quarter-final for both teams, as they lead their pools and are focused on an LV=Cup semi-final place.
Scrum half Martin Roberts who joined Wales this week is released back to his region by Warren Gatland to join-up with a largely unchanged Scarlets side that won away against a strong London Wasps line-up last weekend.
Nigel Davies brings back David Lyons (captain) and Ken Owens after resting them last week. Morgan Stoddart has a groin injury and will be out for four weeks. Other Scarlets on the long-term injury list include senior internationals Simon Easterby, Dafydd Jones and captain Mark Jones.
Saturday’s derby match sees the long-awaited return of Scarlets star centre Regan King who makes his first start on Saturday after nearly a year out from injury – a welcome boost to the rugby region and its supporters.
The Scarlets are unbeaten in the LV=Cup having beaten Worcester, Wasps and drawn against Harlequins. The Scarlets go into the game having won their last four games back-to-back and lead their LV= Cup pool with eleven points.
And reigning Anglo-Welsh champions Cardiff Blues travel to Parc y Scarlets on the back of a decisive 45 v 24 win over Newcastle Falcons last weekend with only one narrow loss against London Irish in their last nine fixtures.
With the Blues and Scarlets both top of their respective pools, a hotly contested match is guaranteed as the Welsh rivals look to seal semi-final qualification and a home draw in the knock out stages.
Nigel Davies said: “The way we are approaching this is very much like a quarter-final, if we can win this game, it puts us in a strong position for a home semi-final.
“It is win at all costs – going into the Wasps game we said we still needed two wins in the last two games – this game is no different, the focus is on getting a result.
“The Blues have everything to play for too, we all want to win this competition particularly with both of us not having great Magners League form. The rivalry between these two regions will mean it will be a great game.
“The LV=Cup competition has been good for us because the quality of our group has risen this season because of the exposure that a lot of our younger players have had over the past 18 months.
“They are performing very well as we saw in first stage and last week in the and this adds competition and depth to the squad. The gap is much closer between those deemed as our first team players and the rest of the squad, which adds competition and a spark in training.”
Davies added recent form had been a boost to the Scarlets squad: “It is great, it has been a long time coming putting four wins in a row together and also the fact that three of them have been away from home is a huge achievement by this group of players.
“As I’ve said before, the investment we’ve made in these players is starting to come through and as they have shown in the last four games, they are a capable bunch. We still have a long way to go but in general terms we are moving forward well.
“I know our Scarlets supporters appreciate what these guys are doing and it would be really nice to see a crowd come here and show their appreciation of these boys – it would be massive for them to get that support.”
Scarlets v Cardiff Blues; LV= Cup Saturday 6th February 2010 (KO 1500) at Parc y Scarlets.
Scarlets: 15 Daniel Evans, 14 Lee Williams, 13 Gareth Maule, 12 Regan King 11 Andy Fenby, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 1 Phil John, 2 Ken Owens, 3 Deacon Manu, 4 Lou Reed, 5 Damian Welch, 6 Rob McCusker, 7 Josh Turnbull, 8 David Lyons (capt).
Replacements: 16 Iestyn Thomas, 17 Emyr Phillips, 18 Rhys Thomas, 19 Vernon Cooper, 20 Johnathan Edwards, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Daniel Newton 23 Joe Ajuwa.
