Ulster v Scarlets: Teams

David Lyons will make his Scarlets debut on Friday having been named to start at number eight in the Magners League game against Ulster at Ravenhill.

Lyons, who signed for the Scarlets in the summer, has been quick to settle in west Wales and will form an exciting back row trio with captain Simon Easterby and Welsh international Gavin Thomas.

There is also a Magners League debut for fellow new boy Kees Meeuws, as he takes his place at tighthead alongside Matthew Rees and Iestyn Thomas.

In the backs Sililo Martens and Rob Higgitt will also make their first competitive starts for their new region, although with Stephen Jones at fly-half there is plenty of experience to draw upon.

Head coach Nigel Davies has been pleased with pre-season training and is looking forward to getting down to business now.

"Training's been great. A lot of people have put their hands up for places and that's what we want," Davies said.

"Competition in the squad pushes everybody forward. If the team's not going well we have players who can come in and perform - and that's the level of competition we need here.

Impress

"Ulster should be an interesting encounter because they've got home advantage and will be looking to start with a bang but we've been working hard to put a game together with a new group of coaches and some new players."

Ulster will hand competitive debuts to BJ Botha, Clinton Schifcofske, Timoci Nagusa, Robbie Diack and Ed O'Donoghue on Friday.

World Cup-winning prop Botha has only trained with the side for a week but has done enough to impress Matt Williams.

"BJ has been training with the Sharks for the last few weeks so I have no concerns over his fitness levels, he has impressed us all at training this week and I am delighted to name him in the side," Williams said.

"It is important to hit the ground running and I feel we have picked a strong side for the first game."

Ulster: 15 Clinton Schifcofske, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Rob Dewey, 11 Timoci Nagusa, 10 Paddy Wallace, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Kieron Dawson, 6 Matt McCullough, 5 Ed O'Donoghue, 4 Carlo Del Fava, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Justin Fitzpatrick.
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Tom Court, 18 Ryan Caldwell, 19 David Pollock, 20 Cillian Willis, 21 Niall O'Connor, 22 Bryn Cunningham.

Scarlets: 15 Morgan Stoddart, 14 Darren Daniel, 13 Rob Higgitt, 12 Gavin Evans, 11 Mark Jones, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Sililo Martens, 8 David Lyons, 7 Gavin Thomas, 6 Simon Easterby (c), 5 Simon Maling, 4 Lou Reed, 3 Kees Meeuws, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Iestyn Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Deacon Manu, 17 Mahonri Schwalger, 18 Vernon Cooper, 19 Dafydd Jones, 20 Martin Roberts, 21 Ceiron Thomas, 22 Nathan Brew.