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Scarlets name team for Pro14 semi-final that includes Halfpenny's replacement
Head coach Wayne Pivac has selected a strong side for the clash with Glasgow Warriors; one peppered with international talent both in the pack and across the backline.
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Scarlets will take on the Warriors in the Guinness PRO14 semi-final on Friday night at Scotstoun Stadium as the West Wales region look to secure a victory for an opportunity to retain the trophy in Dublin next weekend.
Conference A leaders Glasgow secured a home semi-final after an impressive season in the cross-conference competition, finishing seven points clear of second-placed Munster at the end of the regular season games.
The Scarlets will take on Glasgow after securing a victory over newcomers Cheetahs in the quarter-final and will be hoping to see a repeat of last year’s successes to pave the way to the final, to be held once again in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, on Saturday 26th May.
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With Leigh Halfpenny unavailable due to a hamstring injury, sustained in the quarter-final clash against Cheetahs, Scarlets have been forced to make one change to the backline. Kiwi Johnny Mcnicholl makes a timely recovery from shoulder injury to take Halfpenny’s place at fullback.
Two personnel changes upfront see Aaron Shingler returning to the starting XV, which in turn sees fans favourite Tadhg Beirne return to the second row to partner Steve Cummins with Lewis Rawlins moving to the replacements bench.
Looking ahead to the game Head Coach Wayne Pivac said; “They’ve got a very good record at home. They play on a different surface, which they’re used to, so they have a bit of an advantage there, but it’s 80 minutes of knockout rugby. We think we’re in a reasonably good position in terms of our form going in to it.
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“We’re really looking forward to it. We have a lot of respect for Glasgow, they have a good coaching group, some greats players and they’ve got a very strong home record. It makes for a good match-up. Both teams like to play, use the width of the field, and with that type of play it could be a great game.
“Boys enjoy knockout rugby and they enjoy being in these situations. We’re going in there with the mindset that we need to secure a top performance to be able to get on the right side of the ledger.”
Scarlets team to take on Glasgow in the Guinness PRO14 semi final, Scotstoun Stadium, Friday 18th May;
15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 1 Rob Evans, 2 Ken Owens ©, 3 Samson Lee, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Steve Cummins, 6 Aaron Shingler, 7 James Davies, 8 John Barclay
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Replacements; Ryan Elias, Wyn Jones, Werner Kruger, Lewis Rawlins, Will Boyde, Jonathan Evans, Dan Jones, Steff Hughes
Meanwhile, it will be the last official outing for Finn Russell as a Glasgow player, for the time being at least.
Russell, who is leaving the club in the summer, kicked a late touchline conversion in the club’s last home Semi-Final to win the game and 10,000 Warriors supporters will be hoping for another inspired performance from their fly-half against the reigning Champions.
George Horne will partner Russell at scrum-half with Sam Johnson and Nick Grigg starting in midfield. Johnson returns to the side having missed the final game of the regular season against Edinburgh.
Tommy Seymour was also missing at BT Murrayfield that day and he returns to the starting XV and will play alongside DTH van der Merwe and Stuart Hogg in the back three.
Jonny Gray is also fit to play and starts alongside Tim Swinson in the second-row. Ahead of them Jamie Bhatti, Fraser Brown and Zander Fagerson complete the tight forwards.
Ryan Wilson captains the side from Number 8 as Matt Fagerson and Callum Gibbins start on the flanks.
Peter Horne was another player to miss the game against Edinburgh and he is named on an experienced bench that includes club centurions Rob Harley, Chris Fusaro, Henry Pyrgos and Ruaridh Jackson.
Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Dave Rennie said: “At the start of the season our goal was to be playing finals footy at home in front of our family and friends and we’re excited to be running out in front of a 10,000 strong Scotstoun tomorrow night.
“We’ve prepared well and it’s great to be able to bring back Jonny (Gray), Sam (Johnson) Pete (Horne)and Tommy (Seymour) who were late withdrawals ahead of our last game.”
“Scarlets are a quality side, they’re reigning Champions for a reason and we’re looking forward to the challenge on what is will be a special night for our players and supporters.”
Glasgow Warriors appearances in brackets:
15. Stuart Hogg
14. Tommy Seymour
13. Nick Grigg
12. Sam Johnson
11. DTH van der Merwe
10. Finn Russell
9. George Horne
1. Jamie Bhatti
2. Fraser Brown
3. Zander Fagerson
4. Tim Swinson
5. Jonny Gray
6. Matt Fagerson
7. Callum Gibbins
8. Ryan Wilson CAPTAIN
Replacements:
16. George Turner
17. Alex Allan
18. Siua Halanukonuka
19. Rob Harley
20. Chris Fusaro
21. Henry Pyrgos
22. Peter Horne
23. Ruaridh Jackson
Not available due to injury: Adam Ashe (ankle), Oli Kebble (ankle), Pat MacArthur (shoulder), Leo Sarto (shoulder).
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments