by Tom Pritchard
Date: Friday 12 November 2017 (19:45)
Venue: The Recreation Ground, Bath
IT’S crunch time in the Champions Cup, as the Scarlets head to Bath knowing that only a win will keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockout rounds alive.
After defeats in the opening two rounds, progression from the pool looked unlikely for the reigning Pro 12 champions.
Since then however, they have won home and away against Benetton, and most importantly, picked up try bonus-points in both games.
In the corresponding fixture back in October, it was Bath who came away with the spoils at a sodden Parc y Scarlets, with former Scarlet Rhys Priestland kicking all of Bath’s points in an 18-13 win.
In comparison to Scarlets’ two victories from their four pool games, Bath have won three, yet they only sit one point ahead of the Scarlets, making tonight’s match all the more important, with the winner likely to advance to the quarter-finals.
If the form guide is anything to go by, Scarlets come into this game with the momentum, having won three of their last four games in the league.
Conversely, Bath have lost three of their previous four games in the Aviva Premiership.
Speaking ahead of the game, Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac told the club website: “If we don’t improve I think we’ll come second best. It’s not an easy place to go, they’ll step it up as well. Both teams know that there’s a lot to play for. There are three teams within a point of each other and it’s a crucial game for both clubs.”
In previous seasons, the Scarlets have sometimes failed to turn up for the big occasions, in games that really matter.
However, Pivac has no doubts about whether or not his players are ready: “It’ll be an exciting occasion and one we’re really looking forward to. I expect everyone will be up for this game.”
In the last year and a half, Pivac has been able to instill a winning mentality into his side, and this game will be another test of the champions’ credentials.
The Scarlets were dealt a double injury blow yesterday, with the news that Leigh Halfpenny and Johnny McNicholl failed late fitness tests.
The recently-capped Hadleigh Parkes comes into the centre, Paul Asquith moves out to the wing, Rhys Patchell drops to full-back and Dan Jones takes the fly-half berth.
Bath are not without their injury troubles either; they’ll be missing Taulupe Faletau, Semesa Rokodoguni and Francois Louw, three influential players who will be missed hugely by Bath head coach Todd Blackadder.
Scarlets: Rhys Patchell, Tom Prydie, Hadleigh Parkes, Scott Williams, Paul Asquith, Dan Jones, Gareth Davies; Rob Evans, Ken Owens (c), Samson Lee, Tadhg Beirne, David Bulbring, Aaron Shingler, James Davies, John Barclay.
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Wyn Jones, Werner Kruger, Lewis Rawlins, Joshua Macleod.
Bath: Anthony Watson, Matt Banahan, Jonathan Joseph, Ben Tapuai, Aled Brew, Rhys Priestland, Chris Cook; Beno Obano, Tom Dunn, Henry Thomas, Elliott Stooke, Luke Charteris, Matt Garvey (c), Sam Underhill, Zach Mercer.
Replacements: Michael van Vuuren, Lucas Noguera, Max Lahiff, James Phillips, Paul Grant, Kahn Fotuali’I, Freddie Burns, James Wilson.
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