Two heavy defeats for Phil Davies’s men to Clermont Auvergne and London Wasps mean the Welsh region must win against the 2006 Heineken Cup winners to stay in the competition. The Scarlets will hope to rekindle the memories of last season’s epic quarter-final 24-15 win against Munster at Stradey Park to overwhelm the Irishmen once again.
Munster have regained their European pedigree this season with a losing bonus-point at reigning holders Wasps before demolishing Clermont Auvergne at Thomond Park but another trip to atmospheric West Wales may be too much for Ronan O’Gara and company.
The Scarlets have made two changes to the side which defeated Saracens in the EDF Energy Cup last weekend for the match at Stradey Park. Gavin Evans returns to inside centre in place of exciting prospect Jonathan Davies while Nathan Brew gets his first start in Europe on the wing, replacing Garan Evans who slips out of the squad. Alix Popham will once again start the game from the bench which means Dafydd Jones will begin the match at No.8 for the second consecutive game.
“Daf is playing well at the moment and we’ve got a lot of games coming up so it’s about rotating the squad and keeping consistency going in selection,” explained Director of Rugby Phil Davies.
“We’ve got guys like James Bater who is also playing well but he’s not even in the match 22. It’s also about balancing everything together. It’s a case of managing people in different ways – the way things go we may need Alix for the next three games but it’s great to have strength in depth in a crucial area.”
The Scarlets supremo also hit back at criticisms his pack have faced over the past few weeks: “This is the same pack which got us to the semi-finals in Europe last season, we’ll just have to tough it out. We’ve addressed certain things after last weekend and I’m sure the boys will respond this weekend.”
Davies is expecting a tough match against Munster, saying: “They have a lot of international players. Munster are a very robust and direct side but they are always capable of springing a surprise or two. We have great respect for them as they are well coached and playing Munster back-to-back is going to be huge challenge as you have two great rugby cultures coming together.”
Scarlets: Stoddart; M Jones, King, Gavin Evans, N Brew; S Jones, Peel; I Thomas, Hayter, Manu, Eustace, MacLeod, Easterby (capt), G Thomas, D Jones
Replacements: Douglas, George, Cooper, Popham, Cattle, Priestland, J Davies
