Scarlets boosted by returning Wales quartet
Scarlets welcome back Wales internationals Johnny McNicholl, Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias and Jake Ball to their starting XV for Friday’s rearranged PRO14 rematch against Cardiff Blues at Parc y Scarlets.
There are six changes in all to the run-on side, while club skipper Ken Owens is poised to make his first appearance since October. The Wales and British & Irish Lions hooker is named among the replacements after being cleared for action following a shoulder injury.
Behind the scrum, McNicholl comes in for the suspended Liam Williams in the only change to the back division that took the field against the Blues at the Cardiff City Stadium two weeks ago.
The front-row changes en bloc with Jones packing down alongside Elias and tighthead prop Javan Sebastian, who replaces the injured Pieter Scholtz.
Ball has made a swift recovery from the knee injury he suffered against the Dragons on New Year’s Day and resumes his second-row partnership with Sam Lousi.
Josh Macleod, this week named as the only uncapped player in Wales’s Six Nations squad, misses out with an ankle niggle so Ed Kennedy slots into the openside spot and links up with Blade Thomson and Sione Kalamafoni in the back-row.
On the bench, Owens has recovered from the shoulder damage he sustained in Round Two up in Glasgow with Phil Price, Werner Kruger, Tevita Ratuva and Uzair Cassiem providing the rest of the forwards cover. Kieran Hardy, Angus O’Brien and Steff Hughes make up the remainder of the replacements.
Here is the Cardiff Blues side to take on @scarlets_rugby on Friday!
💯 @matthewmorgan23 hits a century of appearances!
💪 @JoshTurn6ull makes a mammoth 200th @PRO14Official against his former side
2⃣ changes made as we target back-to-back wins
↩️ @Jnavidi returns on the bench pic.twitter.com/DNeRUWCHz8— Cardiff Rugby (@Cardiff_Rugby) January 21, 2021
Meanwhile, Matthew Morgan will hit a century of Cardiff Blues appearances when he lines up in this fixture.
Interim director of rugby Dai Young takes charge for the first time since returning to the Welsh capital and has made two changes for the trip to Parc y Scarlets.
After a 29-20 victory over Glenn Delaney’s side at Cardiff City Stadium a fortnight ago, Wales’ capital region are targeting back-to-back victories over their Conference B rivals, with only two points separating them in the table and play-off rugby up for grabs.
Full-back Morgan, who arrived at Cardiff Arms Park in 2016, lines up in an unchanged backline which includes Wales’ Six Nations call-ups Jarrod Evans, Josh Adams, Hallam Amos and Tomos Williams.
Both changes therefore, are made in the pack, with Seb Davies returning to partner captain Cory Hill in the second-row.
Back-row star ruled out
Shane Lewis-Hughes is ruled out of the encounter, meaning fellow academy graduate, Alun Lawrence, wears the number eight jersey.
He is joined in the back-row by Welsh international duo James Botham and Josh Turnbull, who makes his 200th PRO14 appearance.
Having represented both his home region, Scarlets, and Cardiff Blues in the championship, utility forward Turnbull over-takes John Barclay to move fifth in the PRO14’s all-time appearance makers.
On the bench, there is a welcome return for Josh Navidi, who is set for his first involvement of the season. The back-row, who has also been included in Wayne Pivac’s Wales squad, has been sidelined with concussion this season.
All but one of the replacements are product of the Cardiff Blues pathway, including the returning Kristian Dacey and fellow internationals Rhys Carré, Dillon Lewis and Lloyd Williams – taking the matchday squad tally to 15.
The teams:
Scarlets: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Jonathan Davies (c), 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Ed Kennedy, 6 Blade Thomson, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Wyn Jones
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
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 James Botham, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Cory Hill (c), 4 Seb Davies, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Corey Domachowski
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
Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO: Ian Davies (Wales)