News: LV= Scarlets vs Northampton Saints - Match Preview
By tws
November 6 2014
After an impressive performance at Franklin's Gardens against Newcastle Falcons in the first pool match of this season's LV= Cup, Northampton Saints travel to South Wales to take on Scarlets under the lights at Parc y Scarlets. Regular COYSDC contributor, tws, looks ahead to the game...
SCARLETS vs NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
LV=: Friday, 7th November 2014 - 7.30pm
PARC Y SCARLETS, LLANELLI
MATCH PREVIEW
by Tom Carmichael
The young Saints are on the road on Friday. It’s off to West Wales and the Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets. What can we expect? Parc y Scarlets, opened in 2008, holds 14,340 people. There won’t be anything like that but they will make up for it in their encouragement of their boyos. There’s also the little matter us “pinching” one of their own; a certain George North. Rookie referee, Tom Foley (originally from South Wales but now from Bristol/Somerset) will not be short of advice from the locals. It won’t be easy for Saints’ fans to make a Friday night in West Wales; myself and a few others.
Way before Welsh rugby regionalisation Llanelli used to feature home and away on the Saints’ fixture list. An early December game at the Gardens was followed by Easter Saturday at Stradey Park. Away wins at Stradey were rare. It was not a place for the faint –hearted. They saw off the All Blacks there on a famous day in 1972. Llanelli and Wales legends Phil Bennett, JJ Williams, Derek Quinnell, Delme Thomas and Ray Gravell all featured on that day. Although the old ground is gone and Llanelli RFC is now a feeder club to the region, the Scarlets’ supporters are imbued with their great history and a huge pride in their team.
In more recent times the Saints pinched a European win at Stradey in 2005 when Wally Thompson cut through for a last minute try and three seasons ago we won at Parc y Scarlets. A repeat of these wins would be very welcome.
Eight Scarlets are in the Welsh squad; Jake Ball, Rhys Priestland, Liam Williams, Scott Williams, Rhodri Williams, Rhodri Jones, Samson Lee and Emyr Phillips with Ken Owens out injured. The Scarlets are sitting 7th in the Guinness Pro 12. In the European Champions Cup a 28-18 defeat at Toulon was followed by a home 15-3 win against the Tigers when our friends almost literally handed two tries to the Welshmen. Whilst the Saints were triumphing last Saturday at the Gardens, Scarlets beat the Zebre . So they’ve slaughtered two different types of animal in the last fortnight.
Of course little of this has any bearing on Friday evening’s game. The rumours are rife in Wales that it will be a very young and experimental Scarlets side. Obviously the international players will be missing, they have a host of injuries and are anxious to keep others in cotton wool for their game against Glasgow Warriors in a couple of weeks. Coach Wayne Pivac and his deputies are having a week off and handing over to young coaches Ioan Cunningham and Dai Flanagan. Players more often seen in colours of Llanelli, Carmarthen Quins and Llandovery are likely to feature. But don’t be deceived, these guys will be up for it. Scarlets keep their youngsters match fit on Saturdays by playing for these teams. Carmarthen Quins (effectively Scarlets A) beat Leinster A a couple of weeks ago and the chance to play against the English at Parc y Scarlets is a major incentive. The Scarlets side might look something like this...
Steff Evans; Jordan Williams, Staff Hughes, Gareth Owen, Frazier Climo; Josh Lewis, Kieron Harding; Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Jacob Adriaanse, George Earle , Adam Powell, Rob McCusker, James Davies, Sion Bennett.
Possible bench: Darren Harris, Phil John, Ben Leung, Phil Day, Will Boyde, Rhodri Davies, Dan Jones, John Adams.
Then again we might see the Shingler brothers and Michael Tagicakibau.
What of the Saints? Surely all the youngsters deserve another chance after last week’s display. However the Exeter game is looming and, no doubt, Jim will be bearing that in mind. I suspect that we’ll bench the guys released by England. What’s the state of James Wilson and James Craig? Will Salesi have a run out? Will Gareth Denman be rested? Kahn will be away with Samoa and presumably Christian Day will be rested. I’d go with...
Tom Collins, Jamie Elliott, Tom Stephenson, Dom Waldouck, Howard Packman; Will Hooley, Joel Hodgson; Ethan Waller, Mikey Haywood, Gareth Denman, James Craig, Alex Woolford, Phil Dowson, James Fisher, Teimana Harrison.
Bench: Ross McMillan, Alex Waller, Salesi Ma’afu, Calum Clark, Ben Nutley, Lee Dickson, James Wilson (or Harry Mallinder), Ben Foden.
Prediction: Saints win...just.
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Worried about the rookie ref and his south Walian ancestry...
*I could agree with you - but then we'd both be wrong...*
Top of the League 2014-2015 Season
great preview thanks Tom
Thankfully we have James Wilson's long boot.
"JUST"
I think I agree. Thank you for making the effort
"Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it."
-- Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161-180 A.D.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014:11:07:12:17:36 by Paul Flatt.
Twas on a dark and dismal day in a week that had seen rain,
When all roads led to Stradey Park with the All Blacks here again,
they poured down from the valleys, they came from far and wide,
There were 20,000 in the ground and me and Dai outside.
The shops were closed like Sunday and the streets were silent still,
And those who chose to stay away were either dead or ill,
But those who went to Stradey park will remember till they die,
How New Zealand Were defeated and how the pubs ran dry.
Oh the beer flowed at Stradey, piped down from Felinfoel,
And the hands that held the glasses high were strong from steel and coal,
the air was filled with singing and I heard a grown man cry,
Not because we'd won but because the pubs ran dry.
Then dawned the morning after, on empty factories,
For we were still at Stradey, bloodshot absentees,
But we all had doctors papers and they all said just the same,
that we all had Scarlet fever and we caught it at the game.
Now all the little babies in Llanelli from now on,
Will be Christened Roy or Carwyn, Derek, Delme, Phil or John,
And in a hundred years from now they'll sing a song for me,
About that day the scoreboard read Llanelli 9- Seland Newydd 3.
And when I grow old, my hair turns grey and they put me in a chair,
I'll tell my great grandchildren that their Datcu was there.
And they'll ask to hear the story of that dark October day,
When I went down to Stradey park and I saw the Scarlets play.
Lyrics from <a href="http://www.elyrics.net">eLyrics.net</a>