Scarlets boss keeps the faith
Scarlets head coach Nigel Davies has kept faith with the matchday squad which has brought Heineken Cup success as they prepare to face the Newport Gwent Dragons.
There will be starts again for try-scoring heroes Daniel Evans and skipper Mark Jones along with British Lions Stephen Jones and Matthew Rees.
Of the XV which started in the Saturday’s triumph at London Irish, only young centre Jonathan Davies misses out. He is rested to ensure complete recovery from a hip knock sustained in the October 10 win over Brive.
Rob Higgitt comes off the bench to take the inside centre berth. Gareth Maule steps up to take Higgitt’s place on the bench.
Coach Davies said: “We’re obviously very pleased with our last two performances but the emphasis this week has been on putting those to bed, parking them up for six weeks or so until Europe comes around again.
“In the past few days we’ve been focusing on the challenge we face on Friday which will be huge for us particularly considering where we are in the Magners League.
“Our form in the league has been very good – we’ve been unlucky on a couple of occasions – and we were able to build on that during the European phase.
“What we have to do now is make sure that we keep going.”
The Dragons meanwhile come into the match fresh off a good win over Glasgow in the Heineken Cup and buoyed by the return to fitness of their captain Tom Willis.
There are also starts for Richard Fussell and Hoani MacDonald while Matthew Watkins returns to the bench.
The teams:
Scarlets: 15 Daniel Evans, 14 Lee Williams, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Rob Higgitt, 11 Mark Jones, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 David Lyons, 7 Dafydd Jones, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Lou Reed, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Iestyn Thomas
Replacements: 16 Phil John, 17 Ken Owens, 18 Vernon Cooper, 19 Richie Pugh, 20 Tavis Knoyle, 21 Rhys Priestland, 22 Gareth Maule.
Dragons: 15 Martyn Thomas, 14 Aled Brew, 13 Tom Riley, 12 Ashley Smith, 11 Richard Fussell, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Hoani MacDonald, 7 Gavin Thomas, 6 Danny Lydiate, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Robert Sidoli, 3 Peter Bracken, 2 Tom Willis, 1 Hugh Gustafson
Replacements: 16 Steve Jones, 17 Gethin Robinson, 18 Adam Jones, 19 Lewis Evans, 20 Jason Tovey, 21 Matthew Watkins, 22 Danny Lee.
Referee: Peter Allen (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Jon Mason (Wales), Simon Harris (Wales)
TMO: Hugh Watkins (Wales)
