Scarlets British Lions fly half Stephen Jones expects a powerful challenge from French visitors Brive as the Heineken Cup kicks off this weekend at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday (KO 3pm).
Jones says he and his teammates are determined to get off on the right foot, saying: “It’s important that we’re strong at home – we have to ensure we’re successful in our three home games there. We can then build on that by being as good as possible on the road.
“As a group we’re excited about this season’s European challenge. We’re in a competitive group, with Leinster who top the Magners League, London Irish going well in the Guinness Premiership and a strong French outfit.
“Even though Brive have a lot of British influence, like Andy Goode and Shaun Perry in their back line, the forwards play in a traditional French way – they have a heavy scrum, a big maul and they then look to their centres to give them some go-forward and direction.
“They may not play in the flamboyant style of Toulouse or Stade Francais but what they do can be very effective; I expect them to be very direct and physical on Saturday.”
Jones is within sight of a personal milestone as he is just three points short of a Scarlets career 2,500 points. Only two others have reached that landmark – Andy Hill (total 2,596) and Phil Bennett (2,532).
The Scarlets starting XV includes powerhouse Scots wing Sean Lamont partnering home-grown Wales cap Jonathan Davies at centre. A young locks pairing of Dominic Day and Lou Reed is teamed with the all-international back row of Simon Easterby, Dafydd Jones and David Lyons.
Davies said: “Those who pull on the shirt know on Saturday that they’re responsible for representing us as a group and as a region. It’s a massive game for us and those chosen in the match day squad have a responsibility to take us forward.
“There were some very tough calls throughout the team this week and that’s a very positive position to be in because we probably haven’t had that for a year or two. There’s lots of competition in the front row and the back row and even the back line wasn’t easy to finalise. It’s great to have these dilemmas. However, we’ve looked at putting what we believe to be our most potent backline on the field this weekend – and the players named are those that we believe will give us that edge on Saturday.
“Lee Williams, for instance, is a unique player; he offers something special, something very creative and he’s played a big part in the season so far. With Lee, Mark Jones and Daniel Evans as a back three and with the midfield partnership of Sean Lamont and Jonathan Davies we believe we have a strong attacking back line.
“This game is crucial to us; I think that if we have any ambition at all about moving forward in Europe then we’ve got to win this game. We then have to move forward with confidence into the next game. We’ll certainly target our home games – and then see where that takes us.”
Scarlets squad: 1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Matthew Rees, 3 Deacon Manu, 4 Lou Reed, 5 Dominic Day, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Dafydd Jones, 8 David Lyons; 9 Martin Roberts, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Mark Jones (c), 12 Jonathan Davies, 13 Sean Lamont, 14 Lee Williams, 15 Daniel Evans
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Phil John, 18 Rhys Thomas, 19 Vernon Cooper, 20 Richie Pugh, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Rob Higgitt
