Scarlets looking to spark league campaign back at home

The Scarlets host 4th placed Ulster on Saturday evening at Parc y Scarlets in a reverse of last season’s big semi-final game with the West Wales side looking to boost their PRO12 form.

With the memories of losing out on a place in last season’s PRO12 final to a strong Ulster side last May in Ravenhill, there’s been plenty of motivation in the Scarlets camp this week after drawing their last two games in succession.

With seven of the Scarlets squad away on international duty, there are six changes to the starting line-up from last weekend’s draw out in Parma against Zebre.

Gareth Owen returns to full fitness at full back, with a new centre partnership in place for the big game against Ulster with Gareth Maule and Adam Warren joining up in place of Jon Davies and Scott Williams. Jordan Williams returns to the wing after missing out in Italy with a minor shoulder sprain; Kirby Myhill gets a start at hooker with Ken Owens and Emyr Phillips away with Wales and Samson Lee returns to tight head Prop after a two-week suspension.

In the back row, Josh Turnbull moves to seven with Sione Timani in at number eight with captain Rob McCusker still on the side-lines with a calf injury. International flanker John Barclay returns from intense training all week with Scotland and is on the bench.

Experienced Scarlets Prop Phil John is handed the honour of captaining the team on Saturday evening at Parc y Scarlets on his 270th appearance for the West Wales region.

Scarlets Head Coach Simon Easterby said: “The next few weeks hands important opportunities to many of our wider squad players who are energised and eager to prove themselves – particularly in front of a home crowd.

“It’s good for us to have such a big game this weekend at home on the back of a disappointing performance out in Italy last weekend and the players will be looking to settle the record books.”

Ulster have won their last six fixtures in all competitions and their only loss in their last six matches with Welsh regions was to the Dragons at Rodney Parade in the opening round of the RaboDirect PRO12 this season.

Easterby said: “We know we’ll have to be really accurate, Ulster are tough opponents and with the quality they have built into their side, they are still very competitive even during international phases in the season.

“They are very well-coached and have shown their ability in the last few weeks in Europe both home and away and still got a result against Cardiff Blues last time out following on from the highs of the previous weeks. That shows their class and we’re well aware of certain individuals in their team and what they bring.

“They have some real quality throughout the spine of their team and that depth becomes apparent now in the next few weeks; while the balance of some squads can be really disrupted with international call-ups.”

Easterby added that the Scarlets will look to get more of a platform from their set-piece play on Saturday night which had been missing against Zebre.

“The disruption to our pack with international call-ups has not been quite as severe as our back line and we’ve had some consistency in forwards selection over recent weeks so hopefully that will be a good foundation for us.

“We want to get back to winning ways in front of our home support and this group will be conscious of carrying the mantle now for the Scarlets who are away during a key phase in our season. The PRO12 league points we gained during this time of the season proved vital in us achieving a top four play-off place last May.”

Scarlets V Ulster, Saturday 2nd November 2013, Parc y Scarlets kick off 6.30pm; 15 Gareth Owen; 14 Nick Reynolds; 13 Gareth Maule; 12 Adam Warren; 11 Jordan Williams; 10 Steve Shingler; 9 Gareth Davies; 1 Phil John (capt); 2 Kirby Myhill; 3; Samson Lee ; 4; Jake Ball; 5 George Earle; 6 Aaron Shingler; 7 Josh Turnbull; 8 Sione Timani

Replacements: 16 Darran Harris, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Johan Synman, 20 John Barclay, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Aled Thomas, 23 Chris Knight.

NEW SCARLETS FACES

CHRIS KNIGHT

DOB: 28/02/1991; Birthplace: Swansea

Height: 1.78m (5’10”); Weight: 87Kg (13st 9lbs)

Position: Wing; Club: Llandovery

Wing Chris Knight joined the Scarlets at the start of the 2013-14 season. Born in Swansea, Knight arrived at Parc y Scarlets from Premiership side Llandovery. He made his debut for the Drovers in September 2011, scoring a try against Cardiff RFC as part of 4 appearances during his first senior season. In 2012-13 Knight scored 14 tries in 24 appearances for the club, helping them finish second in the Premiership table at the end of the season.

Knight was selected to play for the Wales Sevens team in the Glasgow leg of the World Series in May 2013. He scored three tries in his tournament debut as Wales finished fourth. He also helped Wales win the Bowl at the Twickenham leg and was part of the Wales squad that reached the quarter finals of the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow.

DARRAN HARRIS

Hooker Darran Harris joined the Scarlets at the start of the 2013-14 season as part of the Scarlets Academy. He began playing junior rugby with Brecon RFC before progressing to youth level with Merthyr. Known as a dynamic player, Harris was selected for the Blues U16 and U18 sides and went on to play senior rugby for Merthyr in 2010. Nicknamed ‘Mighty Mouse’, Harris gave a stand-out performance for the club in the SWALEC Cup quarter final match against Pontypridd and he was later invited to join up with the Sardis Road side for the 2011-12 season.

During his two seasons with Ponty he made 34 appearances for the club, helping the side win the Premiership title in 2012 and the league and cup double in 2013. Harris has gained international honours with Wales at U16, U18 and U20 levels. He was part of the Wales U20 squad for both the 2012 U20 Six Nations Championship and the IRB Junior World Championship in South Africa the same year, where Wales finished third.