King fit for Scarlets

The in-form Kiwi centre, Welsh player of the month in the Magners League for September, hobbled off during the 32-25 first round win over London Irish.

But the Scarlets have been given a clean-bill of health as the top two sides in the Magners League prepare for battle in Europe.

Meanwhile Scarlets forwards coach Paul Moriarty hailed Ulster’s 30-3 demolition job of French giants Toulouse as “outstanding”.

He added: “Anyone who can do that to a team of Toulouse’s pedigree has to be brimming full of confidence.

“Ulster made a complete mockery of the breakdown area. They destroyed Toulouse there and every time Toulouse went in with the ball Ulster defenders smashed them. It is no exaggeration to say that Toulouse were well and truly shocked.

“Where Ulster are perhaps a bit different to some other sides is that they are so competitive in the back line in the contact area. If your own ball presentation isn’t spot on, you will struggle.”

The Scarlets have won both their previous Heineken Cup meetings with the Irish province but were defeated 31-16 at Ravenhill on the opening weekend of this Magners League season.

And Moriarty insists there is no danger of the region underestimating the men from Northern Ireland.

He said: “The big thing about Friday night is that everyone knows what to expect – we play them on a regular basis. Toulouse were obviously not prepared for what Ulster threw at them.”

The Scarlets helped kick-off an emphatic start to the European season for the Welsh regions with their win at London Irish. The Ospreys and Cardiff Blues also won in the Heineken Cup and Newport-Gwent Dragons were triumphant in the Challenge Cup.

Moriarty said: “An away win was vital but a bonus point was a massive plus. We could have made the game a lot more comfortable as we were in total control but our finishing and our set pieces were very good, the scrum was very efficient.”