Dwayne Peel has shaken up the Scarlets side for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash with Glasgow Warriors at Parc y Scarlets (5.15pm kick-off).
The west Walians are on a four-game losing run which includes a 29-23 home defeat by Connacht last time out. They haven’t won since New Year’s Day and are 13th out of 16 in the league standings.
Victory over third-placed Glasgow would do a lot for morale, though.
Peel makes seven changes from the team which last to Connacht, with Wales half-backs Gareth Davies and Rhys Patchell returning to the starting line-up.
Davies, in particular, will have a point to prove after being dropped from the Wales matchday 23 for the Six Nations game with England at Twickenham and not featuring off the bench in the previous game against Scotland.
And the Scarlets will look to Patchell for some inspiration.
Injuries have hammered him in recent seasons, but he has a high-class passing game and can spark a backline as well as any other No. 10 in Welsh rugby.
Another international, Steff Evans, also comes back into the side, featuring on the wing as Ioan Nicholas drops out with a hamstring issue and Tom Rogers switches to full-back.
Win Wales v France tickets and watch Six Nations game for free:
You can also fill in the entry form and sign up to our newsletter here.
Up front, Scotland international Javan Sebastian wins a spot in the run-on team after impressing as a replacement against Connacht, while Jac Price packs down at lock and a back-row reshuffle sees Blade Thomson feature at six and Dan Davis resume at openside after recovering from a pectoral muscle injury.
The Scarlets are still missing 17 players, though — 11 out injured, the rest away with Wales.
Fifteen of the 23-man squad facing the Scots came through the region’s pathway system.
Scarlets: Tom Rogers; Steff Evans, Johnny Williams, Scott Williams (capt), Ryan Conbeer; Rhys Patchell, Gareth Davies; Steff Thomas, Daf Hughes, Javan Sebastian, Sam Lousi, Jac Price, Blade Thomson, Dan Davis, Sione Kalamafoni.
Replacements: Marc Jones, Kemsley Mathias, Samson Lee, Aaron Shingler, Carwyn Tuipulotu, Dane Blacker, Sam Costelow, Joe Roberts.
Glasgow Warriors: Ollie Smith, Josh McKay, Kyle Steyn, Sam Johnson, Cole Forbes, Duncan Weir, Jamie Dobie; Oli Kebble, Johnny Matthews, Simon Berghan, Kiran McDonald, Rob Harley, Ryan Wilson (CAPT), Ally Miller, Jack Dempsey
Replacements: Fraser Brown, Murphy Walker, Ewan McQuillin, Richie Gray, Thomas Gordon, Jordan Lenac, Ross Thompson, Stafford McDowall
To get the latest rugby news and analysis, sign up for our Welsh rugby newsletter.
