Preview: Dragons v Scarlets

Thursday's New Years Eve clash between the Dragons and Scarlets sees lock Luke Charteris make his return from injury to the home side.

Thursday's New Years Eve clash against the Scarlets sees lock Luke Charteris make his return to the Dragons side after a thigh injury sidelined the regional star at the beginning of the month.

The return of the Welsh international provides a vital boost to the region as the team looks to move on from their disappointing defeat by Cardiff Blues on Sunday.

Hooker Tom Willis will captain the side, making his second start since his return from a calf injury with Shaun Connor taking on the duties at 10.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Gareth Davies – recently named in Wales' U20 squad for the 2010 Six Nations – starts for the Scarlets, replacing Martin Roberts with Tavis Knoyle still on the sidelines with an ankle strain.

Davies has been impressive at scrum-alf with Premiership club Llanelli RFC this season and was part of the Scarlets squad that drew against Harlequins at the Stoop in November.

North Walian back row Rob McCusker tarts at flanker after a strong performance in the second-half against the Ospreys on Boxing Day.

McCusker replaces Simon Easterby who sustained a hand injury during the sell-out Boxing Day derby at Parc y Scarlets. Easterby has fractured a finger and will be out for around five weeks.

Centre Rob Higgitt and flanker Richie Pugh return to the Scarlets 22, Pugh now fit following a shoulder injury picked up against Leinster in the Heineken Cup.

Lee Williams comes in on the wing to replace Morgan Stoddart who picked up a minor groin injury against the Ospreys last weekend.

The Scarlets go into Welsh derby having won their three last games against the Dragons, and have been victorious on four of their last five visits to Rodney Parade.

However, Scarlets Head Coach Nigel Davies knows that based on the Dragons' 100 per cent home record in the Magners League this season, his young Scarlets team will be facing a tough encounter.

“It's another big game for us, the Dragons are playing a very expansive brand of rugby and getting on the right side of results,” he said.

“They have had an excellent home record in the Magners this season, it will be tough to go there – particularly as we're carrying a small squad at the moment with eight of our front-liners now out through injury.”

Scarlets Captain David Lyons said there was plenty of spirit shown by his team against the Ospreys on Boxing Day and that the Dragons game would have the same level of intensity.

“It will be a similar sort of game to the Ospreys, a good atmosphere at Rodney Parade and probably a big crowd – we'll have to work hard but we also know we have enough skill and talent to get the result, we just need to keep our focus and play for the full 80 minutes,” he said.

Form: Scarlets have won their last three games against Dragons, and incredibly have been victorious on four of their last five visits to Rodney Parade. The Dragons are one of just three teams to have 100 per cent home winning records in the Magners League this season – the others are Munster and Leinster. The Dragons have lost their last three games in all competitions since beating Leinster 30-14 at Rodney Parade on 6 December, but have won their last eight encounters in Newport. Scarlets' only win in their last seven matches was 32-17 at home to Worcester Warriors in the LV= Cup on 14 November. Scarlets are one of just three teams who have not won on the road in the Magners League this campaign – the others are the Blues and Connacht.

The teams:

Dragons: 15 Jason Tovey, 14 Aled Brew, 13 Tom Riley, 12 Matthew Watkins, 11 Richard Fussell, 10 Shaun Connor, 9 Danny Lee, 8 Lewis Evans, 7 Gavin Thomas, 6 Hoani Macdonald, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Rob Sidoli, 3 Pat Palmer, 2 Tom Willis (c), 1 Hugh Gustafson.
Replacements: 16 Steve Jones, 17 Ali McKenzie, 18 Adam Jones, 19 Grant Webb, 20 Martyn Thomas, 21 Will Harries, 22 Gareth Williams.

Scarlets: 15 Rhys Priestland, 14 Lee Williams, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 Andy Fenby, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 David Lyons (c), 7 Johnathan Edwards, 6 Rob McCusker, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Lou Reed, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Jamie Corsi, 17 Emyr Phillips, 18 Damian Welch, 19 Richie Pugh, 20 Daniel Evans, 21 Gareth Maule, 22 Rob Higgitt.

Date: Thursday, December 31
Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 14:05
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: David Bodilly (Wales), Simon Harris (Wales).
TMO: Tony Rowlands (Wales)