I’ll pull no punches on Judgement Day, says Elias

RYAN Elias says there will be no punches pulled when he goes head to head with Wales rival Elliot Dee on Judgement Day despite being good friends off the field.

Dee is the man in possession of the Wales hooking berth, having started the last four Six Nations matches after Elias had got the nod for the opener.

Now Dewi Lake is back fit to add to the competition for the No.2 jersey ahead of next month’s Twickenham Test against South Africa and the summer tour of Australia.

So Scarlets skipper Elias and Dragons front rower Dee will be out to stake a claim when they lock horns in Saturday’s clash at the Cardiff City Stadium – as they put the old pals act on hold for 80 minutes.

“Eliott is a very good friend of mine,” said the 41-cap Elias, below. “In camps together, we are kind of drawn to each other. We go through the same things, feel the same sort of pressures and confide in each other. He’s a good mate.

“But we won’t hold any punches when it comes to game time. We enjoy getting stuck into each other. It’s that personal sort of battle at scrum-time or around the park if we can get a shot at each other.” With head coach Warren Gatland set to name his his Wales squad for the summer Test series on the Monday after Judgement Day, Elias agrees there will be an even greater fizz to the back-to-back derbies, with Cardiff taking on the Ospreys in the second match.

“Most players would say they feel that pressure because you know the squad is going to be announced a couple of days later,” he said.

“You know it’s your last audition to put your best foot forward to be named in the squad.

“It’s also a regional derby, so it’s huge for us. We came up short in a close game against the Dragons on New Year’s Day which we were really gutted about. So personally I feel we owe them one.”

As for taking on the captaincy at the Scarlets with Josh Macleod injured, the 28-year-old

Elias says: “It’s something I have come to enjoy and I feel I have got better at it week on week.

“I have kind of grown into it a bit more. I’ve enjoyed this tale end of the season and played some decent stuff.

“As a team, we want to finish on a high and go out on the right note. So I am definitely motivated for this last game and will be raring to go.”