Scarlets v Ospreys - which way will it go?

The teams have been named for the most fierce derby of the season and a few surprise selections look to have made it quite interesting. The Ospreys, flying high in Europe have recalled Ryan Jones after injury to captain the team from No.8 so a dual with Alix Popham looks to be on the cards.

The Teams:

Scarlets: Morgan Stoddart; Mark Jones, Regan King, Gavin Evans, Nathan Brew; Stephen Jones, Dwayne Peel; Iestyn Thomas, Matthew Rees, Deacon Manu, Vernon Cooper, Scott MacLeod, Simon Easterby (capt), Gavin Thomas, Alix Popham. Replacements: Bruce Douglas, James Hayter, Adam Eustace, Dafydd Jones, Gavin Cattle, Ceiron Thomas, Jon Davies.

Ospreys: Lee Byrne, Nikki Walker, Mark Taylor, Andrew Bishop, Aled Brew, James Hook, Mike Phillips, Ryan Jones, Ben Lewis, Jonathan Thomas, Alun Wyn Jones, Ian Gough, Adam Jones, Richard Hibbard, Duncan Jones. Replacements: Huw Bennett, Cai Griffiths, Lyndon Bateman, Tom Smith, Justin Marshall, Shaun Connor, Jonathan Vaughton.

Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU).


With the Ospreys resting Marty Holah, Filo Tiatia, Justin Marshall and Ian Evans, along with the injury of Gavin Henson, the Scarlets have a great chance for revenge on last seasons festive horror show and a chance to regain the Evening Post cup after a hard fought win at the Liberty Stadium earlier in the season.

No doubt the Ospreys will be looking to target the Scarlet front five to gain the upper hand, an area which one again will be crucial for the Scarlets. Gaining some sort of equality in the area should give the Scarlets enough to take the game, although overcoming the Ospreys defence has proved a tough task in the past.