Scarlets v Munster: Teams

Rhys Priestland: preferred to Stephen Jones at fly-half

Rhys Priestland will start at fly-half for the Scarlets in Saturday's Heineken Cup clash against Munster at Parc y Scarlets.

Scarlets coach Nigel Davies chose Priestland ahead of fellow Wales international Stephen Jones who is relegated to the replacements bench along with 12 other players who were in the starting line-up during last week's 24-17 Pro12 defeat to Ulster.

Scrum-half Gareth Davies and flanker Rob McCusker are the other two survivors from the loss at Ravenhill.

With wins against Castres and a bonus point victory (28-23) against last season's Heineken Cup finalists Northampton Saints, the Scarlets lead Pool One on nine points with this weekend's third round tie a crucial match in their European ambitions.

The Scarlets and Munster have both won their opening two games and are under no illusions how important victories will be in their bid to reach the knockout stages of the tournament.

Focused

The top-billing contest has captured the imagination of supporters both sides of the Irish Sea with around 2,000 travelling Munster supporters making the West Wales trip and a packed home crowd of more than 12,000 at Parc y Scarlets.

Davies said it had been a very focused training week and with heightened competition for places it had been a tough team selection to make for what he has described as one of the biggest games in his coaching tenure.

"There's obviously a lot of tension building for this game but we've kept things very focused and there's a great atmosphere in the group and the energy and motivation levels are very high," he said.

"The boys have responded really well this week and I've never had such a difficult job in terms of selection - there's been some really tight calls.

"This is a two-series game and it's going to akin to international rugby over the next two fixtures with the quality you have on the field and the intensity that both sides will bring.

"We got a big result away from home with Northampton, but we must back that up now at home and we know full well the challenge we face against Munster.

"They bring such a strong desire and will to win and a great team spirit. We all know they are a fantastic team and the threats they have on the field; they have great traditions and represent their community well and have rugby values that mirror our own.

"Simply we have to match that and then bring an intensity and physicality to this game, where they have been able to get the better of us in the past.

"The boys have shown they can do that in our opening two games in Europe and we know we have the talent in the back line to score points and now its about bringing intensity throughout our game on the big day," added Davies.

Meanwhile, Munster have kept faith with the same pack that edged out Castres in Round Two, for the trip to Llanelli.

There are four changes in the back-line, one necessitated by the injury to Doug Howlett with Simon Zebo coming into the side and onto the left wing despite an injury scare earlier in the week when he hurt his ankle.

Impressed

Zebo will be making his Heineken Cup debut on the day that Ronan O'Gara becomes only the second player to win 100 Heineken Cup caps (John Hayes was the first).

Will Chambers, who started on the bench against Castres, starts on this occasion, with the player he replaced that day, Danny Barnes named among the replacements.

Otherwise the other changes are positional, Johne Murphy donning Howlett's number 14 jersey rather than the 15 he wore in Toulouse and Denis Hurley staying at full-back where he has impressed in the most recent games against Edinburgh and Ospreys.

Speaking of yet another milestone in a remarkable career, O'Gara admitted the 100th cap was something that hadn't crossed his mind.

"No, to be honest, it didn't. It wasn't something I was aware of until I was told.

"It was my privilege and honour to present John Hayes with his 100th cap after the game against Northampton Saints and I think it was entirely fitting that man should be the one to achieve that goal first.

"Right now the game tomorrow is far more important than any stat or personal record." he continued.

"But when I'm finished playing, I've no doubt I'll recognise the significance because this is a fantastic competition and one that has given me every possible emotion."

Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Rob McCusker, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Sione Timani, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Iestyn Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Phil John, 18 Deacon Manu, 19 Kieran Murphy, 20 Jon Edwards, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Stephen Jones, 23 Viliame Iongi.

Munster: 15 Denis Hurley, 14 Johne Murphy, 13 Will Chambers, 12 Lifeimi Mafi, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Conor Murray, 8 James Coughlan, 7 Niall Ronan, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Denis Fogarty, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 John Hayes, 19 Donncha O'Callaghan, 20 Denis Leamy, 21 Tomas O'Leary, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Danny Barnes.