PEEL EYES FAST START
CAN SCARLETS GET OFF TO THE PERFECT OPENING?
DWAYNE Peel is hoping a derby-day victory can trigger the Scarlets to a lightning-fast start to the season.
The West Wales region host the Ospreys on Saturday evening as a new United Rugby Championship season gets under way.
A meeting with their arch-rivals at home is in many ways a perfect start for the Scarlets. There is a the prospect of a bumper crowd, decent weather and the incentive of laying down a marker against one of the other Welsh regions.
Certainly the fixtures have fallen with the Scarlets if they are to push for a play-off place. Four of their first five games are at home, with a trip to Italy to take on Benetton at the start of next month the only time they are on the road until late October.
The Ospreys ended last season as the top Welsh region – they defeated the Scarlets in Swansea on their way to winning the Welsh Shield – and are likely to prove stern opposition again.
But there are doubts over the participation of crucial figures such as Alun Wyn Jones and George North. The pair are being carefully managed after they returned to fitness at the back end of last term and were then involved in Wales’s summer tour of South Africa.
If they are left out, their absences may go some way towards influencing the outcome of the contest.
The Scarlets go into the clash with just one pre-season fixture under their belts, the 34-28 defeat against Bristol at the beginning of September.
Last weekend’s pre-season friendly against the Dragons was called off as a mark of respect following the death of Her Majesty The Queen.
Saturday’s game starts at 5.15pm.