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Halfpenny to make his long-awaited return to action
Leigh Halfpenny is set to make his first Scarlets appearance since October after being named in the side to face Toyota Cheetahs in a crucial Guinness PRO14 clash at Parc y Scarlets on Sunday.
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Halfpenny has recovered from a concussion suffered on international duty with Wales during the autumn series and has been released from the national camp to play this weekend.
He is joined in the match-day 23 by fellow Wales squad members Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Jake Ball and Rhys Patchell as head coach Wayne Pivac makes four personnel changes to the side that was beaten 25-19 by Benetton last weekend.
Halfpenny’s return at full-back sees Johnny McNicholl switch to the wing in place of Steff Evans in the only change behind the scrum. Evans remains in the Welsh camp.
Up front, Jones and Elias replace Phil Price and Marc Jones, while Ball – who will captain the side – comes in to partner Josh Helps in the second row.
The back row is the same as the one that took the field at the Stadio Monigo with South African No. 8 Uzair Cassiem going up against his former side.
On the bench, Javan Sebastian comes in to provide tight-head cover, Tom Phillips has recovered from a hamstring injury, while Sam Hidalgo-Clyne replaces Jonathan Evans, who is set to miss the rest of the season because of an ankle injury.
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The Scarlets sit fifth in the Conference B standings.
“It’s a must-win game for us. I am expecting a response this weekend. It is a home game and we have a proud record at home and we want that to continue,” Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac said.
“I am pretty sure the boys will be up for the game and fully motivated because a lot of them are disappointed with individual performances from last weekend.
“If you look at our run-in, it isn’t too bad when you compare to other teams. Of course, we still have difficult opponents to play, but we are in Wales which is in our favour. Everyone likes playing at home and we have four out of our last six games at home and one at a neutral venue.
“The Cheetahs kick the ball the least so they like to play, they have some genuine speed, they score a lot of points and they concede a lot of points.
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“For us, it is about being disciplined; our defensive effort has to be better than it was against Benetton and we have to make sure we win those physical exchanges when we have ball in hand so we can unleash our backs who we believe are pretty potent.”
Scarlets Team v Cheetahs:
Leigh Halfpenny; Johnny McNicholl, Kieron Fonotia, Paul Asquith, Ioan Nicholas; Dan Jones, Kieran Hardy; Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Werner Kruger, Jake Ball (capt), Josh Helps, Josh Macleod, Dan Davis, Uzair Cassiem.
Replacements: Marc Jones, Phil Price, Javan Sebastian, Lewis Rawlins, Tom Phillips, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Rhys Patchell, Steff Hughes.
Players unavailable because of injury:
Jonathan Evans (ankle); James Davies (foot), Steve Cummins (shoulder), Blade Thomson (concussion), Angus O’Brien (knee), Aaron Shingler (knee), Taylor Davies (hamstring), Corey Baldwin (ankle), David Bulbring (ankle/knee).
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments