Rising star Page set to make his URC debut for Scarlets in Parma
TALENTED Welsh youngster Macs Page is set to make his United Rugby Championship debut after being named on the bench for the Scarlets’ clash against Zebre tonight.
Dwayne Peel has made two changes from the side that lost to Ulster last week as they prepare to take on the URC’S basement side, with Ioan Lloyd and Alex Craig returning to the starting side.
Lloyd was a first-half replacement last week, having missed the previous two games with an eye injury suffered at Glasgow in March.
Craig has recovered from a hamstring problem to replace lock Jac Price, who drops to the bench along with last week’s starting outside-half Sam Costelow.
Page’s inclusion on the bench caps an impressive few weeks for the 19-year-old.
Having scored a superb solo try in Llandovery’s Indigo Premiership semi-final win over Cardiff, he then started in their final victory over Newport last weekend.
The Wales U20s back was also one of the 70-odd academy players brought in to Wales’ Vale of Glamorgan base for a skills clinic in recent weeks, with Wales coaches Warren Gatland, Rob Howley and Jonathan Humphreys leading drills at the sessions.
“Gats said at the start, over the next three years, it’s about building our physical side and collision dominance to play Test rugby,” said Page recently.
“Just small details about the small stuff. He said over the next few weeks to work on physical collision. To play that level of rugby, you have to be able to give it and take it.”
Zebre have won just once all season, with the Scarlets sitting two places above them - although the gap is just two points.
However, they haven’t won outside of Wales since the last time they visited Parma in March 2022.
They’ll have to do it without locks Sam Lousi and Vaea Fifita, who remain unavailable through injury, along with Tom Rogers, Steff Evans, Joe Roberts, Josh Macleod, Teddy Leatherbarrow and Jac Davies.
“We are looking to build some momentum in these last two games to fire us into pre-season and we understand we need to perform well to get those results,” said Scarlets assistant coach Emyr Phillips.
“We are encouraging the boys to play high-tempo rugby and get the ball moving because that’s when we are at our best. We know Zebre will bring emotion to the game and we need to match that.”
Zebre: Geronimo Prisciantelli; Jacopo Trulla, Luca Morisi, Enrico Lucchin, Lorenzo Pani; Giovanni Montemauri, Gonzalo Garcia; Danilo Fischetti, Giampietro Ribaldi, Muhamed Hasa, Leonard Krumov, Andrea Zambonin, Giacomo Ferrari, Davide Ruggeri, Giovanni Licata (capt).
Replacements: Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Alessio Sanavia, Juan Pitinari, David Sisi, Matteo Canali, Thomas Dominguez, Fetuli Paea, Bautista Stavile.
Scarlets: Ioan Nicholas; Tomi Lewis, Johnny Williams, Eddie James, Ryan Conbeer; Ioan Lloyd, Gareth Davies; Kemsley Mathias, Ryan Elias (capt), Harri O’connor, Alex Craig, Morgan Jones, Taine Plumtree, Dan Davis, Carwyn Tuipulotu.
Replacements: Shaun Evans, Wyn Jones, Sam Wainwright, Jarrod Taylor, Ben Williams, Kieran Hardy, Sam Costelow, Macs Page
Referee: Sam Grove-white (SRU)