The Kiwi flyer has made an instant impact for the West Walians since joining from Canterbury, scoring twice in his first 10 games for the region. McNicholl has become a fans favourite at Parc Y Scarlets and enjoyed big wins over Munster and Leinster in his debut season in the Guinness PRO12.
There will be another first for the dynamic Scarlets star on Saturday when he takes to the Principality Stadium turf to take-on Newport Gwent Dragons. And he cannot wait to put on a show for the Cardiff crowd.
He said: ”I’ve been wanting to play out there for years! Watching Welsh rugby at Principality Stadium, I was amazed that you could play rugby under a roof. Now we’ve got one at home back in New Zealand, in Dunedin, I’ve played in that and you know you’re going to get a dry game you’re going to get a nice hard, dry pitch. For a winger/fullback like myself you know it’s going to be running rugby. I can’t wait!”
Wayne Pivac’s side are not just going to Principality Stadium for a day out – they need a win to keep their PRO12 playoff hopes alive. They currently occupy fourth spot in the league after their big win over Benetton Treviso last weekend, and could catch the Ospreys with a win over the Dragons.
But if they slip-up, Ulster could leapfrog them with a victory at Munster, and McNicholl is desperate to reach the semi-finals.
He added: “I believe we need to win most of our games now to get into the top four. I hope we do and I think we can do it as well. It could be a quarter-final in a way if we’re not in the top four as results can go either way. There’s not far to go! There’s plenty left in the tank!”
