Preview: Scarlets v Perpignan

Former Heineken Cup runners-up Perpignan kick off their campaign with a match away to Scarlets on Saturday.

Former Heineken Cup runners-up Perpignan kick off their campaign with a match away to Scarlets on Saturday.

The Catalans travel to Wales without French international centre Maxime Mermoz due to a shoulder injury. Test prop Guilhem Guirado is also out with a injury to his sternum.

South African centre Gavin Hume starts at fly-half in a make-shift move outside youngster Florian Cazenave but David Mele is likely to come off the bench in the second period as he returns from injury.

Meanwhile, Scarlets make six changes to the starting line-up from last week's loss against Ospreys with the return of popular back three talent Morgan Stoddart who returns from a minor hamstring injury. Rhys Priestland, who started the season so strongly for the Scarlets in the number 10 shirt, moves to full-back with Martin Roberts getting the start at scrum-half.

The Scarlets will have plenty of muscle and experience in their pack with Rhys Thomas at Prop and Vernon Cooper coming into the second row, and a reshuffled back-row which will offer energy, hunger and power with the likes of Josh Turnbull, Rob McCusker and David Lyons.

Scarlets and Scottish international wing, Sean Lamont told the official website: “It's going to be a classic French test – they come with a big pack and will be strong on set piece. They have quality in the backs and we have to make sure we're not giving them any easy ball.

“But we are confident, our ultimate aim is that we want to win all our pool games and there is no reason why we can't on our day beat anyone in our Pool. Yes, it's a tough one but if we're playing our game and playing well, we are capable – this team is really growing in confidence, we are attacking better, our defense is sharper this year and it's good we've got more depth now – we are building a good team here.

“We're very focused on building a winning mentality at home and this will be a real test for us on Saturday if the French come here on fire.”

“The crowd last week were fantastic, it makes a massive difference to the team to have a full stadium with a passionate crowd – it's the sort of support you love to see and really lifts you when you're on the field.”

Head Coach Nigel Davies said his team was ready and up for the challenge.

“We have built some momentum going into Europe, we had a big test last week and the boys put in a big performance, but we know that Perpignan are right up there and we've spent a lot of time looking at them,” he said on the website.

“They've beaten Clermont and Toulouse, but Europe is all about pitting yourself against the best and that's what we are going to be doing on Saturday. That's where we want to be and we're ready for the challenge,” said Davies.

“This team is showing a lot of spirit, intensity and passion this season. They are working really hard. We want to make our home a very tough place to come and the team with the crowd behind them – are desperate to make that happen and turn things around from last season.

“I was really pleased with some of the individual performances last week including Josh Turnbull who really is the sort of player you want in a squad – he'd die for the cause, he's got loads of energy and is really stepping up to the mark physically as is Rob McCusker. Both are great examples of the value of investing in and developing our talent from within our rugby region. Because of the exposure they've been given, these guys are ready and able to compete now against world-class players.”

The teams:

Scarlets: 15 Rhys Priestland, 14 Morgan Stoddart, 13 Gareth Maule, 12 Regan King, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 David Lyons, 7 Josh Turnbull, 6 Rob McCusker, 5 Vernon Cooper, 4 Lou Reed, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Iestyn Thomas
Replacements:16 Ken Owens, 17 Phil John, 18 Deacon Manu, 19 Jonny Fa'amatuainu, 20 Jon Edwards, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Scott Williams, 23 Daniel Evans

Perpignan: 15 Jérôme Porical, 14 Adrien Plante, 13 David Marty, 12 Jean-Philippe Grandclaude, 11 Julien Candelon, 10 Gavin Hume, 9 Florian Cazenave, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Gerrie Britz, 6 Bertrand Guiry, 5 Robins Tchale Watchou, 4 Yoann Vivalda, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Charles Geli, 1 Perry Freshwater
Replacements: 16 Marius Tincu, 17 Jérôme Schuster, 18 Kisi Pulu, 19 Guillaume Vilaceca, 20 David Mele, 21 Joffrey Michel, 22 Manny Edmonds, 23 Ovidiu Tonita

Date: Saturday, October 9
Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 15:30 BST (14:30 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Small