Scarlets focus on bringing intensity to West Wales Heineken Cup thriller

The Scarlets face twice European champions Munster in their third Heineken Cup fixture this Saturday (kick off 3.40pm) at home in the first of the mouth-watering back-to-back clashes between the two unbeaten sides in Pool 1 in this season’s European competition.

With wins against Castres and a bonus point victory (28-23) against last season’s Heineken Cup finalists Northampton Saints, the Scarlets lead pool 1 on nine points with this weekend’s third round tie a crucial match in their European ambitions.

The Welsh region and the Irish province have both won their opening two games and are under no illusions how important victories will be in their bid to reach the knockout stages of the tournament.

The Scarlets haven’t reached the last eight of the tournament since 2007 and face the might and experience of an Irish Province who are two time winners of the competition in 2006 and 2008 but that missed out on the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time in 12 years last season.

The Scarlets come into Saturday afternoon’s Heineken Cup fixture with one loss in nine outings in all competitions. The top-billing contest at Parc y Scarlets has captured the imagination of supporters both sides of the Irish Sea with around 2,000 travelling Munster supporters making the West Wales trip and a packed home crowd of more than 12,000 at Parc y Scarlets.

Head Coach Nigel Davies said it had been a very focused training week and with heightened competition for places it had been a tough team selection to make for what he has described as one of the biggest games in his tenure as Head Coach of the Scarlets.

Davies said: “There’s obviously a lot of tension building for this game but we’ve kept things very focused and there’s a great atmosphere in the group and the energy and motivation levels are very high. The boys have responded really well this week and I’ve never had such a difficult job in terms of selection – there’ve been some really tight calls.

“This is a two-series game and it’s going to akin to international rugby over the next two fixtures with the quality you have on the field and the intensity that both sides will bring. We got a big result away from home with Northampton, but we must back that up now at home and we know full well the challenge we face against Munster.

“They bring such a strong desire and will to win and a great team spirit. We all know they are a fantastic team and the threats they have on the field; they have great traditions and represent their community well and have rugby values that mirror our own.

“Simply we have match that and then bring an intensity and physicality to this game, where they have been able to get the better of us in the past. The boys have shown they can do that in our opening two games in Europe and we know we have the talent in the back line to score points and now its about bringing intensity throughout our game on the big day.”

Scarlets Captain Matthew Rees said his team were ready for the biggest games of their season: “We have a strong enough squad and some great talent in it, now we need to go that extra step in terms of Heineken Cup, we have done ourselves proud so far and it’s about backing up those performances.

“I can’t fault the effort and commitment the boys have put in to the working week. We are hungry for success and it’s been a long time since we have achieved anything, and as a senior player and captain, I think it’s time we got something back here.

“We’ve invested well in terms of the bringing through some great new Welsh talent from within our region, with a number of them gaining international honours – and a lot of that is down to the hard work and commitment from the coaching team at Parc y Scarlets.

“We have kept our heads down and are going about our business as we normally, taking each game as it comes. Up front we just need to just knuckle down and do the hard graft first to create the platform for our backs – who we know can produce some good tries. Put those two things together and we can be very dangerous.

“Munster have been one of the best sides in Europe over the last 10 years and they know how to turn it on for the Heineken Cup and we know we have to be right at the top of our game to make sure we get a result.

“They’ll come with a passionate and vocal support, with a lot of experienced players who have been around a long time, will be ready for the big occasion. We hope for a packed home stadium and full support from our home crowd on Saturday which will have an big impact on the team. It’s going to be a great rugby occasion for everyone involved.”

Scarlets v Munster Friday 10th December 2011,: 15 Liam Williams 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams 12 Jon Davies, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Gareth Davies, 1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Matthew Rees (capt), 3 Rhys Thomas, 4 Sione Timani, 5 Damian Welch 6 Aaron Shingler, 7 Rob McCusker, 8 Ben Morgan

Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Phil John, 18 Deacon Manu, 19 Kieran Murphy, 20 Jonathan Edwards, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Stephen Jones, 23 Viliame Iongi.