The first act in what could be two season defining games for the Scarlets and Ospreys will take place at Parc y Scarlets in Round 14 of the BKT United Rugby Championship.
Jac Morgan’s Ospreys side will travel the 12 miles down the road to face their fiercest rivals hoping to build on recent wins over reigning champions Glasgow Warriors and Connacht to ensure they stay in the top eight.
The Scarlets, meanwhile, need to recover quickly from last weekend’s home defeat to the Stormers to try to bridge the three point gap that currently exists between themselves and the play-off places.
And once they’ve given it their best shot, they will have to do it all over again next weekend at the Swansea.Com Stadium in the Round of 16 in the EPCR Challenge Cup. It promises to be a couple of very special weekends for the fans and players.
Wales skipper Morgan returns to action after a short break in the wake of his Six Nations duties to lead the Ospreys. Fellow Welsh international Dewi Lake also comes back into the fold on the bench.
“It’s so tight at the moment, a win last weekend could have taken us up to sixth. Losing, meant we dropped as many places,” said Scarlets’ head coach Dwayne Peel.
“We need to be more accurate this week. We were all frustrated after the game against the Stormers and there is no better fixture for us to have this week.
“It is a big derby, it will be a big occasion and there will be a big crowd. It has been an exciting week to be part of.
“This week is pivotal for us. We have to make sure we are on the right end of the result if we want to kick on for the rest of the season.
“There is plenty to play for with Europe next week as well. It is nice to be at this part of the season when you are in the mix and hunting hard for stuff.
“The league being so tight, sides are going to take points off each other and there will be two sides going at it on Saturday with exactly that in mind.
“The Ospreys have got momentum at the moment and have been playing well and with freedom. They look like they are enjoying their rugby and have changed a bit of their style.”
With more than 10,000 tickets sold for the game the atmosphere will be white hot. Ospreys head coach Mark Jones is expecting a long day because not only will he be leading his team at Parc y Scarlets, but he has also accepted an invitation to the Scarlets former players’ event in the evening.
He’ll be hoping his side can give him something to boast about all night and keep themselves in the running for a play-off place for the second seasons in a row.
“Mark is a great character, but I’m sure he is still a Turk at heart! We have a reunion of ex-players on Saturday night and his name is down on the list of people attending, so I hope I can join him there having got one up on him,” added Peel.