SCARLETS NAME TEAM TO FACE LONDON IRISH ON SUNDAY
Dyddiad/Date: Friday 15th January 2010
Cyhoeddwyd ar ran y Scarlets/Issued on behalf of Scarlets
The Scarlets have named a 23-man squad to face the London Irish on Sunday at Parc y Scarlets, kick off 1245pm, in the fifth round of the Heineken Cup.
The Scarlets have beaten London Irish in their previous three Heineken Cup clashes including their last encounter - the memorable 27 - 25 win at Madejski stadium in October in Round 2 of this season's competition.
With London Irish out to revenge their defeat at home in Reading against the Scarlets, both teams have admitted it is a 'massive match' - knowing that a result keeps their hopes in the Europe alive.
Scarlets Head Coach Nigel Davies said the Parc y Scarlets home crowd will have plenty to look forward in Sunday's game.
"It should be a good game, both sides traditionally look to play an expansive brand of rugby. I've got a lot of admiration for what they are doing at London Irish, they are a quality outfit and with both sides knowing it is a must win match - it should make for a great game of rugby, just like the first game was."
Back into the Scarlets starting line-up comes Morgan Stoddart on the wing with talented young flanker Josh Turnbull back after suspension.
Fly-half Stephen Jones does not quite make the race for fitness for this game, after picking up a slight shoulder injury against the Dragons on New Years Eve, so Rhys Priestland takes up the key no10 slot for the Scarlets. Daniel Evans, Man of the Match against London Irish last time out takes position at full-back.
The Scarlets welcome back experienced prop Iestyn Thomas who returns from injury to start. The squad is still without a number of its internationals including Mark Jones, Matthew Rees (expected back next week), Dafydd Jones, Rhys Thomas and Regan King.
The Scarlets are determined to put their back-to-back form against Leinster right, with Davies saying it is now the 'key game' in the European Cup with "a lot to play for and a lot to prove".
He said: "This is a key game in our group now. It's very important to both teams and realistically we are still in there with a shout of finishing in second spot in this particular group if we win on Sunday.
"If we can do that in this group, that will be a big achievement for us, particularly where we've come from over this past two or three years."
And Davies backed his young Scarlets fly-half, Rhys Priestland, saying he has developed well this season: "I am really pleased with Rhys, I think his overall game is very good, and he has developed really well this year. He has a bit more of a mental hardness to his game now and affects games very positively. I felt that in our win against the Dragons on New Years Eve, he had a significant impact on the game."
Asked about the last London Irish encounter, Nigel Davies said: "We were able to get pretty much our strongest team on the field for that game - with most of our internationals available. Our pack went well and our set piece gave us a great platform, which was no mean achievement against a formidable team like London Irish.
"We established a platform to play off and we were able to react to the game as it unfolded, and in the second half we dominated the game. We stuck in there and showed resilience and belief when they got a break away try and that's the type of commitment and character that we are going have to show again on Sunday."
Meanwhile, London Irish second row Bob Casey who will lead the Exiles out on Sunday after back to back wins of 34-13 and 36-3 winners against Brive has said the team were aware of the challenge the Scarlets present: "We slipped up badly at home when the Scarlets punished us but we will be doing our homework on them next week and make sure we are 100 per cent prepared for what we know will be a huge challenge in West Wales," said Casey.
"The Scarlets have a decent scrum, their line-out is going well and they have gain breakers behind the scrum and guys who can run in tries from all over the pitch.
"Any team that can do that is a threat and in David Lyons they have one of the best No 8s in the competition, an extremely powerful player with a great rugby brain."
Scarlets selection v London Irish Sunday 17th January 2010 (KO 1245) at Parc y Scarlets
15 Daniel Evans, 14 Morgan Stoddart, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 Andy Fenby, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Martin Roberts, 1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Ken Owens, 3 Deacon Manu, 4 Lou Reed, 5 Dominic Day, 6 Rob McCusker, 7 Josh Turnbull, 8 David Lyons (captain).
Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Phil John, 18 Jamie Corsi, 19 Damian Welch, 20 Johnathan Edwards, 21 Lee Williams, 22 Dan Newton 23 Gareth Maule.
