by Ben Jones
Scarlets versus Cardiff Blues in the Guinness PRO14
Date: Friday, January 22 2021
Venue: Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Time: 20:00 PM
REVENGE is a dish best served cold as the Scarlets welcome the Cardiff Blues to town and look to put things right after the last meeting between the two rival regions.
Two weeks ago, the Blues hosted Scarlets in the first meeting between the two sides and came away 29-20 winners in an enthralling match at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Tries from Willis Halaholo, Rey Lee-Lo and Tomos Williams as well as 14 points from the boot of Jarrod Evans – that earned him a call up to the Welsh Six Nations squad – were enough for the hosts.
Cardiff’s form hasn’t been as good as their performance against the Scarlets would have suggested. Three wins in their last nine as well as an abrupt departure of former head coach John Mulvihill in the week leading up to the derby sees them sit fourth.
Glenn Delaney’s side have been in fantastic form. Before losing to the Blues two weeks ago, the Scarlets had won three in a row and been granted a win in the Champions Cup after Toulon refused to play due to covid.
The two sides are separated by only two points in Conference B as the Capital Region look to make it back-to-back victories over their rivals and push for the playoffs.
The Scarlets welcome back four Wales internationals to the starting XV for the rearranged fixture. Johnny McNicholl, Ryan Elias, Wyn Jones and Jake Ball are all back and match fit so they get the nod.
They are all part of six changes to the squad. Club captain Ken Owens is back in contention after being cleared for a shoulder injury. Javan Sebastian replaces South African Pieter Scholtz at tight-head prop whilst Josh Macleod – recently named in the Wales Six Nations squad as the only uncapped player – has an ankle injury and is replaced by Ed Kennedy in the openside spot.
As for the Blues have made two changes to the side that beat out the Scarlets earlier this month. Seb Davies returns to partner captain Cory Hill in the second row whilst the other change is an enforced one with Shane Lewis-Hughes out and academy graduate Alun Lawrence taking the eight jersey.
There’s no changes in the back line as recent Wales call ups Jarrod Evans and Hallam Amos retain their places in Dai Young’s first game as Director of Rugby.
Speaking to the media, Delaney spoke of his excitement for the opportunity to face the Blues again so soon and was happy to see Young back in Wales.
“It is an opportunity and we’ve got to take it. We are preparing well and we looked pretty hard and correctly at the game we played in Cardiff” the Kiwi said.
“The fact of the matter is we still went 20-18 up but didn’t manage the back end of the game. I would still back us to manage that even with 14 men.
“We have learned a lot from it and you can’t stand still, as long as we are taking things from the game that apply. We have another chance and we are looking forward to it.
On Young being back in Wales, the New Zealander said “It is great to have Dai back in the game, I have known him a long time and he is a good rugby man, a Cardiff man through and through.
“We have caught up a couple of times and he is enjoying being back in the hot seat.”
Young talked about showing faith in the players that did the business two weeks ago, as well as paying homage to two of his players breaking milestones.
“Discipline has been the theme of the week for us. There are plenty of positive from the win a fortnight ago, but also plenty of learnings.
“On the whole it was a good performance, but there was a 20 minute spell where we conceded a series of penalties and allowed Scarlets back into the fight.
“We’re eager to show the same intent and innovation with ball in hand, and there are plenty of boys in that side who can cause problems for the opposition defence, but it all starts with our work up front.
“We’ve decided to keep faith with the boys that secured the victory last time out and they’ve all deserved another shot.
“It’s excellent to see Matthew Morgan and Josh Turnbull hitting big milestones. It’s reward for their commitment and service to the side and they’ve been important squad members in their time here.”
SCARLETS: 15) Leigh Halfpenny; 14) Johnny McNicholl, 13) Jonathan Davies (C), 12) Johnny Williams, 11) Steff Evans; 10) Dan Jones, 9) Gareth Davies; 1) Wyn Jones, 2) Ryan Elias, 3) Javan Sebastian, 4) Jake Ball, 5) Sam Lousi, 6) Blade Thomson, 7) Ed Kennedy, 8) Sione Kalamafoni
REPLACEMENTS: 16) Ken Owens, 17) Phil Price, 18) Werner Kruger, 19) Tevita Ratuva, 20) Uzair Cassiem, 21) Kieran Hardy, 22) Angus O’Brien, 23) Steff Hughes
BLUES: 15) Matthew Morgan; 14) Josh Adams, 13) Rey Lee-Lo, 12) Willis Halaholo, 11) Hallam Amos; 10) Jarrod Evans, 9) Tomos Williams; 1) Corey Domachowski, 2) Liam Belcher, 3) Dmitri Arhip, 4) Seb Davies, 5) Cory Hill (C), 6) Josh Turnbull, 7) James Botham, 8) Alun Lawrence
REPLACEMENTS: 16) Kristian Dacey, 17) Rhys Carré, 18) Dillon Lewis, 19) Rory Thornton, 20) Josh Navidi, 21) Lloyd Williams, 22) Ben Thomas, 23) Aled Summerhill
