With just one away win since last January, Leinster have a tough task on their hands as they visit a table-topping Scarlets side chasing their eighth GUINNESS PRO12 victory on the trot.
GUINNESS PRO12: Friday, October 16
SCARLETS (1st) v LEINSTER (6th), Parc y Scarlets, 7.35pm (live TG4/S4C)
Team News: Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has made five changes to the side that defeated the Dragons 37-13 in round 3, with two alterations in the backs and three in the forwards.
There is no change to the back-three with Isa Nacewa captaining the province from full-back and Garry Ringrose and Fergus McFadden occupying the wing berths. All three players were on the scoreboard last time out with McFadden, in particular, impressing off the tee with six successful kicks from six attempts.
It is an all-Clontarf midfield combination of Noel Reid and Colm O’Shea, with Ben Te’o not making the squad having picked up a minor knock at training on Wednesday.
Isaac Boss wins his 125th cap for Leinster at half-back, while outside him Ross Byrne starts his first game for Leinster having come off the bench on two occasions already this season. The UCD starlet was the Ireland Under-20s’ starting out-half during last season’s Six Nations campaign.
Bryan Byrne (pictured below) makes his first start of the season at hooker having come off the bench against Edinburgh and Cardiff Blues, with Ireland internationals Michael Bent and Martin Moore either side of him.
With Mike McCarthy called up to the Ireland Rugby World Cup squad, Tom Denton comes back into the second row to partner Ross Molony.
The final change sees Dan Leavy start for the second time this season in place of Rhys Ruddock who has also been called up to the RWC squad. Dominic Ryan starts at blindside flanker with Josh van der Flier completing the pack at openside.
Among the replacements, Jamie Hagan will win his 50th cap for Leinster should he make an appearance off the bench, while Wexford man Tony Ryan is in line to make his debut having impressed for the Leinster ‘A’ team against Munster ‘A’ last week. Another Clontarf clubman, Mick McGrath, is also in line for his first appearance of the season.
Tickets for the Scarlets v Leinster clash are still available. Ireland fans looking to start a great weekend in Wales with some rugby at Parc y Scarlets can get tickets by clicking here.
Meanwhile, in-form winger DTH van der Merwe is set to make his Scarlets debut just a week after Canada were knocked out of the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup, a campaign in which he scored a try in all four of his country’s games.
The Canadian flyer is one of four changes to the Scarlets back-line from the 20-8 victory over Zebre a fortnight ago. Aled Thomas comes in at full-back for Jordan Williams, while there is a new half-back pairing in Aled Davies and Steven Shingler with Rhodri Williams and Dan Jones moving to the replacements bench.
Hooker Kirby Myhill is the only change to the pack with Emyr Phillips suffering from a hamstring strain. Ryan Elias and Tom Williams come on to the replacements bench.
SCARLETS: Aled Thomas; Hadleigh Parkes, Regan King, Gareth Owen, DTH van der Merwe; Steven Shingler, Aled Davies; Rob Evans, Kirby Myhill, Peter Edwards, George Earle, Tom Price, Aaron Shingler, James Davies, John Barclay (capt).
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Phil John, Will Taylor, Tom Phillips, Jack Condy, Rhodri Williams, Dan Jones, Tom Williams.
LEINSTER: Isa Nacewa; Fergus McFadden, Colm O’Shea, Noel Reid, Garry Ringrose; Ross Byrne, Isaac Boss; Michael Bent, Bryan Byrne, Martin Moore, Ross Molony, Tom Denton, Dominic Ryan, Josh van der Flier, Dan Leavy.
Replacements: James Tracy, Peter Dooley, Jamie Hagan, Tadhg Beirne, Tony Ryan, Luke McGrath, Cathal Marsh, Mick McGrath.
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Wayne Davies, Greg Morgan (both Wales)
Television Match Official: Tim Hayes (Wales)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Scarlets to win: 4/11; Draw: 19/1; Leinster to win: 23/10
Pre-Match Quotes: Isaac Boss (Leinster) – “Scarlets has always been a tough place for us to go and play, even when we’re both full strength. They play a good brand of rugby and they’ve got a really good record at home.
“It’s a good chance for us to measure ourselves and this is probably a bigger opportunity than the young guys have had so far. If we can topple them it’s a big feat and it’s huge for our season.
“It probably separates the men from the boys a little bit. It would be really good to see a few of the younger guys put their hands up and take these opportunities for future prospects.”
Wayne Pivac (Scarlets) – “We didn’t perform well out in Zebre and then we had to contend with another week’s break. In terms of improvements from the last performance we’ve talked about it and very much put Zebre to bed.
“This is a critical game to maintain our position in that top four group. We obviously want to stay top for as long as we can but for us top four is a new era really.
“Playing at home is a big thing for us. We’ve already won a home game against an Irish side (Ulster) this season, and performed reasonably well, and most definitely want to repeat that.”
Top Scorers – 2015/16 GUINNESS PRO12: Scarlets – Points: Dan Jones 29; Tries: Hadleigh Parkes 2; Leinster – Points: Isa Nacewa 34; Tries: Isa Nacewa 2
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, September 1, 2012 – Scarlets 45 Leinster 20, Parc y Scarlets
Saturday, February 23, 2013 – Leinster 32 Scarlets 5, the RDS
Friday, September 6, 2013 – Scarlets 19 Leinster 42, Parc y Scarlets
Saturday, November 30, 2013 – Leinster 36 Scarlets 19, the RDS
Saturday, September 13, 2014 – Leinster 42 Scarlets 12, the RDS
Sunday, March 7, 2015 – Scarlets 23 Leinster 13, Parc y Scarlets
MATCH FACTS:
– The Scarlets have won their last seven GUINNESS PRO12 matches, their best ever run in the league
– The Welshmen’s only defeat at Parc y Scarlets in the PRO12 since December 2013 was to Edinburgh last March
– Leinster have lost just one of their last five PRO12 encounters: 16-9 to Edinburgh at Meggetland in round 1, while their only away victory in any competition since January was also against Edinburgh, at BT Murrayfield in May
– The Scarlets’ 23-13 victory over Leinster in this corresponding fixture in round 17 last season ended a six-match losing run to the Irish province in all competitions
– The Scarlets have not won back-to-back matches against Leinster since 2004
This website uses cookies.
Read More