SCARLETS GET SET FOR BIG HEINEKEN BATTLE IN ITALY

The Scarlets travel to Italy this weekend for the away leg of their back-to-back games against Benetton Treviso in the fourth round of the 2010 Heineken Cup.

With competition building in Europe’s tough Pool 5, Perpignan and the Scarlets are both on 10 points and Leicester Tigers on 11 – with all three sides having won 2 from 3 games so far. The Scarlets know that a victory out in Treviso would put them in a strong position but appreciate the Italians will be a different proposition at home.

After securing a bonus point victory over the Italians last weekend at Parc y Scarlets (35-27) the Scarlets know the game on Saturday afternoon at Stadio Monigo (18/12/10 kick-off 2.35pm local time) will be of a much higher intensity.

Scarlets Head Coach, Nigel Davies has billed it as one of the most important games of his squad’s season as they build momentum from a strong start in all three of their competitions.

The Scarlets have won 10 and drawn one of their 15 competitive games this season, with six home wins out of eight (plus a draw against Leinster) with four wins away from home at London Irish, Cardiff Blues, Newport Gwent Dragons and Aironi.

The Scarlets will be without internationals Stephen Jones, Matthew Rees and David Lyons who are out injured however Davies says that was not a big concern for him as his squad of players have shown they are ready and able to step up in key games.

Davies said: “I am optimistic because the boys that are coming through are really stepping up to the mark for us, Ben Morgan has been outstanding at no8, Rhys (Priestland) is going well at 10 for us and has done all season in Steve’s (Jones) absence and we have a very strong hooker in Ken Owens as we have seen last season and this.

“I’ve said that building strength in depth in this group is what we needed and to an extent we’ve got that now and these boys are showing great commitment and enthusiasm for the shirt. I’m really comfortable with how this group is performing and our starting line up for Saturday.”

Scarlets starting XV v Benetton Treviso, Stadio Monigo, 18/12/2010, kick-off 2.35pm: Dan Newton, Morgan Stoddart, Gareth Maule, Regan King, Sean Lamont, Rhys Priestland, Tavis Knoyle, Iestyn Thomas, Ken Owens, Simon Gardiner, Vernon Cooper, Dominic Day, Josh Turnbull, Johnathan Edwards (capt), Ben Morgan.

Replacements: Emyr Phillips, Rhodri Jones, Phil John, Jonny Fa’amatuainu, Rob McCusker, Martin Roberts, Scott Williams, Lee Williams.

Davies spelled out why this game was such a key one for the Scarlets:  “In my mind, it’s probably one of the most important games of our season. Maintaining momentum is massive and a win would probably allow us to take control of the group. It’s a key game for us.

“Winning this game would be huge because of our ambitions in Europe, because of where we have been over the last two to three years, because of our form in all competitions, because of the way we have developed our young talent and because of the group that we’ve got and the way they have come through for us.”

The Scarlets Head Coach said the priority was to secure a win and players’ minds were focused on victory not bonus points.  He said: “If we play to our potential we are averaging 30 points a game, we are scoring tries, and we’re capable of putting on points.  But the priority is to perform well and get a win first and foremost.

“I think everyone now appreciates and respects how good the Italians are.  They may well be more ambitious at home and they are big and powerful as we’ve seen this season.  We know we can improve in lots of areas from last week, we can’t give them too many set pieces, we’ll need to be accurate and we need to work better without the ball.  That’s been an emphasis for us this week and we’ve moved forward significantly. “