Injury-hit Scarlets hoping to leave Munster out in the cold

FINGERS are still firmly crossed that the current cold spell will not prevent Sunday’s Magners League game between Munster and Llanelli Scarlets at Musgrave Park from taking place.

The pitch has been covered and while contingency plans for a switch to Thomond Park have been put in place, the likelihood is the game will remain in Cork. A final decision will be made on Saturday and it is possible that the kick-off will be brought forward from 5pm to 2.30pm. The Scarlets have been made aware of the situation and should be in a position to alter their travel arrangements if necessary.

With the number of Welsh clubs in the Heineken Cup next year reduced from four to three, there is additional pressure on the four regions to finish as high up the Magners League table as possible. The Scarlets’ morale took a hammering in their back-to-back European ties against Leinster but they have since beaten the Dragons in the Magners League with coach Nigel Davies confident they can move on from there.

Their prospects on Sunday are not helped by injuries to their Lions out-half Stephen Jones, laid low by a shoulder knock, and talented Kiwi centre Regan King who has been out for 12 months after tearing his hamstring off the bone. Jones will be in back in less than a fortnight and King by the end of the month.

And the bad news doesn’t end there for Davies. Hooker Matthew Rees, flankers Dafydd Jones and Simon Easterby and captain Mark Jones are all out of the Musgrave Park clash.

“There is jeopardy in this league now with only three Welsh teams qualifying for the Heineken Cup,” said Davies. “It’s going to be good for the league in the long term but not for the lifespan of coaches. We disappointed in Europe in our last two games but we were really pleased with our display against the Ospreys. That was a game which could have gone either way and after that loss, we knew we had to go to the Dragons and get a result and we did that.”

Davies admits the Scarlets are at a rebuilding stage and “we need to add more top quality players to the mix. “We have identified areas that we need to strengthen and we are talking to agents all the time on that front. We have to have Heineken Cup rugby to entice them with. Our Magners League performances have been very frustrating because we have been a couple of points off winning games which in turn meant we got bonus points but have not picked up winning points.”

Davies acknowledges the extent of the challenge awaiting his side at Musgrave Park.

“Munster have a massive reputation and sometimes a reputation can beat you before getting out on the park”, he observed. “We’re continually losing out in the contact area and there’s nobody going to pose more of a problem for us in that facet of play than Munster. It’s the main focus of our game over the next couple of months. If we get that right, I’m comfortable that the rest is in place.

“Munster are going to be smarting from their defeat in Ulster. They had pretty much their back line but they’ll bring in some of their forwards for this game. I would have thought they would go full-strength against us and that’s what we’re anticipating. They’ll want to, like we do, sign off this series of Magners before going into the Heineken, with a win.”