Scarlets welcome back Stoddart
The Scarlets welcome back Wales international Morgan Stoddart on the wing after a seven-month absence for the match against Connacht on Friday.
Stoddart has recovered from a long-term knee injury.
“Morgan’s has been training very well with us, he’s been taking contact for the past three weeks.” head coach Nigel Davies said.
“He had no issues with the game last weekend (Llanelli against Aberavon) – he came through it reasonably well and he has shown up well in training. We know the kind of quality player Morgan is, so the sooner we can get him back on track the better.”
Stoddart features in a back-line that includes Rhys Priestland, who kicked the region to victory against the Dragons last week, and Tavis Knoyle, who makes his first league start.
With six of the Scarlets’ top players now on international duties, some new faces appear for the Magners League fixture against Connacht, including 27-year-old lock Damian Welch.
Davies said: “I am really excited about Damian Welch, he hasn’t many opportunities so far this season because of our other quality young locks. Damian is somebody I have a big regard for and I think potentially he could go a long way.”
And with Dafydd Jones getting a Wales call-up, World Cup Sevens star Richie Pugh earns a place in the starting line-up.
Davies said: “Richie has been a breath of fresh air in terms of what he has brought into the squad. We can all see what Richie is capable of and I thought he had a big impact when he came on last Friday, he’s probably one of the quickest back rows out there.”
The Scarlets’ Head Coach said Connacht’s style of ground and the weather would prove ‘a challenge’ – adding it will be a tough game to get a result from.
He said: “We know it’s a difficult place to go to, the weather is consistently bad whenever we’ve played there and they play the conditions and their ground very well.
“The first thing we have to do is physically front up to them and if we do that then we have a chance. We have played up there on a number of occasions, we know what to expect and we are intent on getting a result.
“We will have to play clever rugby at times, because the pressure they put on you, you don’t always get to play the game you want.”
Davies said the team does go into the game with added confidence on the back of three straight wins but said there was still a long way to go.
He said: “We haven’t achieved anything yet. There has been a certain degree of confidence and belief building within this group for some time now – the processes that we have put in place are starting to come through for us.”
The Connacht team meanwhile, shows two changes from that which started against Glasgow Warriors.
Robbie Morris is selected at tight head prop with Jamie Hagan dropping to the bench, while Michael Swift is also included among the replacements as Mike McComish comes into the back row with Mike McCarthy switching to the second row.
Teams:
Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy, 14 Troy Nathan, 13 Nive Ta’auso, 12 Keith Matthews, 11 Fionn Carr, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Frank Murphy, 8 Mike McComish, 7 Johnny O’Connor, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Bernie Upton, 4 Mike McCarthy, 3 Robbie Morris, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Brett Wilkinson
Replacements: 16 Adrian Flavin, 17 Jamie Hagan, 18 Michael Swift, 19 Andrew Browne, 20 Conor O’Loughlin, 21 Miah Nikora, 22 Liam Bibo
Scarlets: 15 Daniel Evans; 14 Morgan Stoddart, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Rob Higgitt, 11 Lee Williams; 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Tavis Knoyle; 8 David Lyons, 7 Richie Pugh, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Damien Welch, 4 Vernon Cooper, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Iestyn Thomas
Replacements: 16 Phil John, 17 Emyr Phillips, 18 Aaron Shingler, 19 Josh Turnbull, 20 Gareth Davies, 21 Dan Newton, 22 Gareth Maule.
Date: Friday, 30 October
Venue: The Sportsground, Connacht
Kick-off: 18.30
Referee: Graham Knox (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Alan Rogan (Ireland), John Carvill (Ireland)
