Former Wales Under 20 Grand Slam skipper Tom Phillips will lead the side into the third round. The Scarlets currently sit in the second position in their pool after securing a victory over Hartpury and suffering a narrow defeat to Ulster A in the opening two rounds.
Hard running RGC centre Tom Hughes also gets a first start in the game as he and his Gog team mates return to the ground where they suffered a loss against Carmarthen Quins in the top of the table West Division clash in the Principality Premiership. Botica, whose father Frano played for Llanelli, was last season’s Player of the Season.
The current Wales Under 20 captain, Will Jones, will lead the Ospreys PS XV into their game against Nottingham at Lady Bay Stadium on Sunday (kick-off 3.00pm). Wales Under 18 cap Cai Evans starts at full back and two more of the Under 18 tour party to South Africa in August, Harri Morgan and Callum Carson are on the bench.
“It’s going to be a tough test for us on Sunday up in Nottingham. They are doing well this season in the Championship and I’m sure they’re looking to continue that form in this competition,” said Ospreys head coach, Tom Smith.
“We’ll be looking to build on the performances in the first two rounds against Munster A and Bedford. In both games we put in really good first half performances before some of our mistakes allowed the opposition to pull away from us.
“It’s unfortunate that we’ve had to make a few changes to our squad due to some nasty injuries to both academy and senior players, which has affected selection. However, a fair proportion of our team had really good exposure in the Anglo Welsh competition.”
The Dragons PS XV heads to Yorkshire to take on Yorkshire Carnegie min the first of a tough double-header against the English Championship outfit. The game kicks-off at 1.30pm on Saturday, 9 December at Headingley.
Dragons head coach James Chapron has got a blend of youth and experience in his side with an exciting back three that contains Joe Goodchild, Rio Dyer and Barney Nightingale. Wales Under 18 cap Callum Morris is named to start at as scrum half with one of his South African-tour team mates, Lennon Greggains, given the captaincy.
“The British and Irish Cup is a really good opportunity to see where our boys are at, and to be able to give them an experience which they can add to their training that they may not get whilst with the clubs,” said Chapron.
“Last year’s squad contained the likes of Leon Brown, James Benjamin, Joe Davies and Harrison Keddie. That probably shows the value of the competition and it gave opportunities for players like Charlie Davies and Jack Dixon, who were coming back from injuries, to be integrated at a decent level. The value of the competition is not always in the results.”
“With the amount of injuries that both the Dragons and our Premiership sides currently have, it gives us an opportunity to play the likes of our 17-year-old hooker Will Griffiths, who will make his debut for the side off the bench.
“He’s a very good player in the making and it’s a good opportunity for him to come off the bench at this level to see what he can do with a bit of pressure. We also have a young No 9, Callum Morris, who we recently signed from Wales Exiles, playing his first game at this level as well.”
Cardiff Blues PS XV will be led by Pontypridd’s Wales Under 20 international Shane Lewis-Hughes for their trip to face Doncaster Knights on Saturday (kick-off 2.30pm). He is one of 11 Cardiff Blues Academy members in the matchday squad.
Head coach Justin Burnell’s side have been beaten 31-7 at home by Bristol and 29-10 in Dublin by Leinster A in their pool to date and will be seeking only their third win in 15 games in the competiton. Corey Howells, who recently made the switch to the Welsh capital from Newport, lines up on the wing.
Harri Millard and Max Llewellyn, who made his senior Cardiff Blues debut in the Anglo-Welsh Cup recently, combine in midfield, while the Wales Under 20 combination of Dane Blacker and Ben Jones link up at half-back.
Ospreys PS XV: Cai Evans; Andrew Claypole, Joe Thomas, Rhys Williams, Jay Baker; Luke Price, Matthew Aubrey; Hugh Gustafson, Ifan Phillips, Alex Jeffries, James Ratti, Matthew Dodd, Joe Tomalin-Reeves, Will Jones (captain), Morgan Morris
Reps: Luke Davies, Mitchell Walsh/Garyn Daniel, Dewi Lake, Jack Pope, Jay Williams, Harri Morgan, Callum Carson
Scarlets PS XV: Tom Rogers; Ioan Nicholas, Tom Hughes, Billy McBryde, Ryan Conbeer; Jacob Botica, Alex Schwarz; Rhys Fawcett, Dafydd Hughes, Javan Sebastian, Josh Helps, Chris Long, Shaun Evans, Dan Davis, Tom Phillips (captain)
Reps: Matthew Moore, Steff Thomas, Nicky Thomas, Joe Powell, Gareth George, Jack Maynard, Rhodri Jones
Dragons PS XV: Joe Goodchild; Rio Dyer, Chay Smith, Connor Edwards, Barney Nightingale; Dorian Jones, Callum Morris; Phil Price, Ellis Shipp, Garin Harris, Henri Williams, Josh Skinner, Lennon Greggains (captain), Taine Basham, Ieuan Jones
Reps: Will Griffiths, Josh Reynolds, Keagan Bale, Elliot Ferriman, Morgan Burgess, James Leadbetter, Steffan Jones
Cardiff Blues PS XV: Patric Lewis; Corey Howells, Harri Millard, Max Llewellyn, James Beal; Ben Jones, Dane Blacker; Rhys Carre, Joe Page, Joe Rees, Josh Hawkins, Ben Murphy, Shane Lewis-Hughes (captain), Sion Edwards, Gareth Jones
Reps: Ian Jenkins, Louis Jones, Owain Lloyd, Alun Lawrence, Jamie Hill, Ben Thomas, Dafydd Smith
