Nicholas wings in as the Scarlets look to get their Euro campaign on track
THE Scarlets hand a European debut to Wales Under-20s wing Ioan Nicholas as they head into the vital Heineken Champions Cup clash with Leicester Tigers at Welford Road tonight (7.45pm).
The cousin of Nigel Owens has impressed when called on this season, notably in the Guinness PRO14 encounter against Southern Kings, when he scored a try.
His challenge will be to fill the significant void left by Johnny McNicholl, who is ruled out after picking up a knock towards the end of the 14-13 defeat by Racing 92 last weekend .
It is a big ask for 20-year-old Nicholas, but the Scarlets do have faith in him. He has been progressing well with the region and proved one of the top-performing Wales players at the World Rugby Under-20s Championship in the summer.
Whatever, Wayne Pivac’s team find injuries piling up at the worst possible time.
The unavailability of Rhys Patchell because of concussion and Angus O’Brien because of a knee problem that is set to keep him out for the majority of the season means Dan Jones comes in at fly-half.
Steff Hughes, normally a centre, provides the back-up at No. 10 from the bench.
Up front, the lock options are particularly stretched. Steve Cummins (concussion) and Jake Ball (dead leg) are both sidelined, while Aaron Shingler, who could have featured in the engine room in a crisis, is a longterm casualty.
A further change from the side that lost to Racing sees Josh Macleod come into the back row at the expense of Ed Kennedy. Macleod features at openside, allowing Will Boyde to move to No. 8 and Blade Thomson to figure at blindside.
Defeat in the east Midlands wouldn’t spell the end for Pivac’s side in the Champions Cup this season, but it would leave them with no margin for error heading into the December double-header with Ulster.
The Tigers have blown hot and cold in the English Premiership this season, losing at home to Worcester Warriors and being thrashed 40-6 in Devon by Exeter Chiefs but also defeating Newcastle Falcons (49-33), Sale (19-15) and Northampton (2315).
They kicked off their European campaign with a defeat, coming unstuck 24-10 against Ulster in Belfast.
Wales surprise call-up Jonah Holmes starts at full-back for Leicester, while Wales Under-20s captain Tommy Reffell is on the bench.
Jonny May returns after sustaining a shoulder injury against East Midlands rivals Northampton a fortnight ago to raise concerns that he could be sidelined for England’s autumn series next month.
But he is restored to the right wing having missed just one match and is joined in the starting XV by lock Will Skinner, who has completed his controversial four-week ban for a dangerous tackle.
“The atmosphere in Ulster was certainly intimidating,” Leicester’s interim-coach Georgan Murphy said
“It was very difficult for everyone and we couldn’t hear ourselves very well. To have the flip side of that at Welford Road would be amazing.”
L. Halfpenny; I. Nicholas, J. Davies, H. Parkes, S. Evans; D. Jones, G. Davies; W. Jones, K. Owens (capt), S. Lee, T. Price, D. Bulbring, B. Thomson, W. Boyde, J. Macleod.
R. Elias, P. Price, W. Kruger, J. Helps, U. Cassiem, S. Hidalgo-Clyne, S. Hughes, P. Asquith.
J. Holmes; J. May, M. Tuilagi, K. Eastmond, J. Olowofela; G. Ford, B. Youngs; G. Bateman, T. Youngs (capt), D. Cole, H. Wells, W. Spencer, M. Williams, G. Thompson, S. Kalamafoni.
T. Polota-Nau, F. Gigena, J. Heyes, G. Kitchener, T. Reffell, S. Harrison, M. Toomua, A. Thompstone.
Scarlets: Reps: Leicester Tigers: Reps: