Scarlets hand the captaincy to hooker Daf Hughes for Friday’s United Rugby Championship test against high-flying Ulster in Belfast (7.35pm kick-off).
Dwayne Peel takes a youthful line-up to the province where he coached for four seasons, with injuries and international calls impacting on his selection.
The starting XV sees seven changes from the team which ran out against Bristol Bears in the Heineken Champions Cup last weekend. The pool encounter at Parc y Scarlets ended badly for Peel’s team, with the visitors offloading a top-quality pool of replacements in the final quarter to race to a 52-21 win.
Ryan Conbeer and Dane Blacker are the only survivors behind the scrum.
The pair were among those who emerged in credit against Bristol, with Conbeer the Welsh team’s standout player. Bristol had some dazzling performers on the night, but none could compete with Conbeer’s match statistics which saw him complete 159 metres with ball in hand and beat eight defenders.
He is joined by Ioan Nicholas and Tom Rogers in a rapid back three. Rogers hasn’t taken the field at this level since October 22 and will be looking to impress, having fallen out of the Test reckoning.
Up front, Llandovery product Hughes leads the Scarlets for the first time, packing down between Steff Thomas and Samson Lee, with loose-head Thomas making his season’s debut in regional rugby.
The Scarlets name Morgan Jones alongside Sam Lousi at lock and will be hoping the former Wales U20s forward can build on a promising show against Bristol. Jones started the season slowly but ticked many boxes against the Gallagher Premiership club with his athleticism, physicality and lineout work.
Carwyn Tuipulotu also features after backing up a strong effort off the bench against Bordeaux with an encouraging show against Bristol.
Aaron Shingler has overcome the back issue which forced him to withdraw late on from the Bears game and is named among the replacements.
Peel said: “It is going to be a big challenge for us, with Ulster going really well, but it is one we are looking forward to. It is an exciting prospect for me personally. I had four great years in Ulster.”
Ulster are positioned third in the United Rugby Championship, behind Leinster and leaders Edinburgh.
They have South Africa World Cup winner Duane Vermeulen at No. 8 and are skippered by Alan O'Connor, with scrum-half Neil Doak a player to watch.
Ulster: 15. Ethan McIlroy, 14. Craig Gilroy, 13. Ben Moxham, 12. Angus Curtis, 11. Rob Lyttle, 10. Billy Burns, 9. Nathan Doak, 1. Eric O’Sullivan, 2. John Andrew, 3. Marty Moore, 4. Alan O’Connor (capt), 5. Sam Carter, 6. Greg Jones, 7. Marcus Rea, 8. Duane Vermeulen.
Replacements: 16. Bradley Roberts, 17. Jack McGrath, 18. Gareth Milasinovich, 19. Mick Kearney, 20. David McCann, 21. David Shanahan, 22. Ian Madigan, 23. Aaron Sexton.
Scarlets: 15. Ioan Nicholas, 14. Tom Rogers, 13. Tyler Morgan, 12. Steff Hughes, 11. Ryan Conbeer, 10. Dan Jones, 9. Dane Blacker, 1. Steff Thomas, 2. Daf Hughes (capt), 3. Samson Lee, 4. Sam Lousi, 5. Morgan Jones, 6. Sione Kalamafoni, 7. Shaun Evans, 8. Carwyn Tuipulotu.
Replacements: 16. Marc Jones, 17. Kemsley Mathias, 18. Javan Sebastian, 19. Josh Helps, 20. Aaron Shingler, 21. Kieran Hardy, 22. Sam Costelow, 23. Steff Evans.
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