Scarlets A look forward to welcome the Connacht Eagles as they battle it out in the fourth round of the Celtic Cup.

The game will be held at Carmarthen Park, this Saturday 29th of September, kick-off 14:30.

Last weekend we saw the Cup leaders Leinster take charge at the Parc as they secured another win, both teams succeeding a try but it was all down to the minor penalties and those extra points on the board.

This week a few more academy players take their place on the replacements bench, giving them valuable game time against some high quality opposition.

Centre Steff Hughes continues his role as captain with fly half Dan Jones named in the squad for the first time in the competition.

Speaking ahead of to tomorrow’s game Head Coach Richard Kelly said; “We’re hoping to see increase in performance from the boys, and seeing them stepping up towards squad development and more importantly individual personal development, and of course a win would be nice.”

Speaking about the Celtic Cup, Kelly went on to say; “I definitely see a massive difference from when we first started this cup, I see the young boys especially stepping up and gaining a lot of confidence whilst playing with the more experienced players. They’ve dealt with a higher intensity game and ‘m thrilled to see them play comfortably at that level.”

On Dan Jones’ selection Kelly explained; “He’s an experienced outside half, he runs the game well and is a brilliant communicator, it’s perfect for what these younger players need in order to being them up to speed to the level of rugby they’ll be playing in a few years time.”

Scarlets A side to take on Connacht Eagles A, Carmarthen Park, Saturday 29th of September, KO 14:30;

15 Morgan Williams, 14 Tomi Lewis, 13 Corey Baldwin, 12 Steff Hughes ©, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Dan Jones , 9 Declan Smith, 1 Jamie Hughes, 2 Dafydd Hughes, 3 Javan Sebastian, 4 Josh Helps, 5 Morgan Jones, 6 Tom Phillips, 7 Stuart Worrell, 8 Joe Miles

Replacements; 16 Torin Myhill, 17  Berian Watkins, 18 Kemsley Mathias, 19 Jac Price, 20 Chris Long, 21 Dafydd Land, 22 Osian Knott, 23 Tom Rogers

Tickets can be purchased at the gate at Carmarthen Park.

Scarlets centre Jonathan Davies returns to action this weekend after suffering a hamstring strain and will lead his side against Isuzu Southern Kings at Parc y Scarlets, Saturday 29 September, kick-off 18:30.

Saturday’s clash will be Davies’ first outing in this season’s Guinness PRO14 having pulled out of the pre-match warm-up against Leinster in round 2.

The British and Irish Lion centre will lead the side with club captain Ken Owens amongst a group of internationals rested this weekend.

A new-look all-international front row will get a first start this season in Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias and Werner Kruger as head coach Wayne Pivac rotates the squad.

Jake Ball and David Bulbring combine in the second row with Dan Davis coming in to the openside flank alongside Ed Kennedy and Blade Thomson in the back row.

Scrum half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne gets his second start of the season as he comes in to partner Rhys Patchell in the halfbacks.

Twenty-year old Ioan Nicholas and Australian centre Paul Asquith come in for their first competitive starts of the season as they line up in the backline alongside the experienced Johnny McNicholl, Clayton Blommetjies and Davies.

Newcomer Marc Jones is named on the replacements bench as he looks to make his debut for the Scarlets, having made the move recently from Sale Sharks. Phil Price, Simon Gardiner, Tom Price and Uzair Cassiem provide cover for the pack with Kieran Hardy, Angus O’Brien and Steff Evans providing cover for the backline.

Looking ahead to the game head coach Wayne Pivac said; “We will be doing our very best to get a much stronger performance this weekend, which we will need to have. We saw the Kings beat a very good Glasgow team on the weekend. If that wasn’t a warning shot I don’t know what is.

“The Kings have probably given everyone a wake up call with their performance, obviously we play the way we did against Connacht and we’ll find every match tough. We have to keep working hard and make sure that we improve.

“There’ll be no excuses this weekend. We have to go out there and perform. You saw the energy and excitement that Connacht brought every time Connacht won a turnover and we felt that we weren’t as energetic as they were.

“The boys are hurting and we expect to see a much better performance.”

Scarlets team to take on Southern Kings, at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday 29thSeptember, kick-off 18:30;

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Paul Asquith, 11 Ioan Nicholas, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 1 Wyn Jones, 2 Ryan Elias, 3 Werner Kruger, 4 Jake Ball, 5 David Bulbring, 6 Ed Kennedy, 7 Dan Davis, 8 Blade Thomson

Replacements; 16 Marc Jones, 17 Phil Price, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Tom Price, 20 Uzair Cassiem, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Angus O’Brien, 23 Steff Evans

Tickets are available now, click here, call the ticket office on 01554 29 29 39 – open until 19:00 this evening and from 09:00 tomorrow.

Rested; Leigh Halfpenny, Tom Prydie, Kieron Fonotia, Hadleigh Parkes, Gareth Davies, Ken Owens, Samson Lee
Unavailable; Steve Cummins, Lewis Rawlins, Will Boyde, James Davies, Dylan Evans, Jonathan Evans, Rob Evans, Josh Macleod, Aaron Shingler

Souther Kings team news –

The Ospreys team to play Zebre at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi on Saturday 29th September 2018, KO 4pm (local), is as follows:

15 Dan Evans 14 George North 13 Joe Thomas 12 Owen Watkin 11 Luke Morgan 10 Sam Davies 9 Aled Davies 1 Nicky Smith 2 Scott Otten 3 Ma’afu Fia 4 Bradley Davies 5 Adam Beard 6 Dan Lydiate 7 Justin Tipuric (Capt) 8 James King

REPLACEMENTS – 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Rhodri Jones 18 Tom Botha 19 Olly Cracknell 20 Sam Cross 21 Tom Habberfield 22 James Hook 23 Cory Allen

The following players were unavailable for selection due to injury:

Lloyd Ashley – Shoulder

Dan Baker – Knee

Gheorghe Gajion – Hamstring

Keelan Giles – Knee

Paul James – Shoulder

Will Jones – Shoulder

Lesley Klim – Hamstring

Giorgi Nemsadze – Neck

Sam Parry – Bicep

Luke Price- Fractured tibia

Gareth Thomas – Shoulder

Scott Williams – Hamstring

Ospreys Head Coach, Allen Clarke, said:

”Three home wins have given us a platform to go into back to back away games that will offer totally different challenges to the group over the next eight days.

“We’ll continue to take it one game at a time, we’re not looking any further than that. Our focus is on ourselves, and ensuring we do the basics well. There’s confidence in the group but it’s a realistic and respectful confidence, not a misplaced one.”

Forthcoming Fixtures

Sat 6 Oct – 3.00pm – Scarlets v Ospreys – Parc y Scarlets

Sat 13 Oct – 3.00pm – Ospreys v Pau – Liberty Stadium

Sat 20 Oct – 3.00pm – Worcester v Ospreys – Sixways

Fri 26 Oct – 8.05pm – Ospreys v Connacht – Morganstone Brewery Field

Hooker Ryan Elias will make his first competitive start of the season, against Southern Kings, at Parc y Scarlets tomorrow and he’s looking to make the most of the opportunity.

With club captain Ken Owens rested for the fifth round clash in the Guinness PRO14, Elias gets an opportunity to be named in the starting XV alongside fellow international props Wyn Jones and Werner Kruger.

“Ken is one of the best hookers in the world, a British and Irish Lion and a good leader, so you are learning from the best. We are both from Carmarthen and went to the same school and the same rugby club,” said Elias.

“He calls me his apprentice. It’s good to learn off him. He has a lot of time for me and I have a lot of time for him, there’s a respect there. I’m happy at the Scarlets and, the way things are going, I think it works. Hopefully, I’ll get a bit more game-time this year and some bigger games.”

Looking ahead to the game Elias said; “We’ve got some big games coming up. We’ve got a really proud record at home and hopefully this week against the Kings we’ll start to put things right.

“They had a good result last weekend. Their tails will be up.

“We didn’t play our best against Connacht. I’d imagine they’ll be coming here confident.

“We have to make sure that we fix things this week and make sure we right the wrongs. The main thing is getting the win and getting back on the horse.”

The First Minister of Wales is to launch a series of high-profile lectures to mark the centenary of the Department of international Politics at Aberystwyth University.

In a keynote address entitled ‘Towards a Better Union: Past, Present and Post Brexit prospects for the UK’, Carwyn Jones AM will analyse the challenges posed by the UK’s departure from the European Union.

The lecture will be delivered at 5pm on Thursday 11 October 2018 in the Main Hall of the Department of International Politics on Penglais campus.

Admission is free, all are welcome, and tickets for the lecture are available online at Tocyn.Cymru.

Carwyn Jones is an alumnus of Aberystwyth University, who graduated with a degree in Law in 1988.

His lecture is the first in the Centenary Speakers Series organised by the Department of International Politics to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Professor Richard Beardsworth, Head of the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University, said: “We are delighted that the First Minister has agreed to deliver our inaugural centenary lecture. Brexit has dominated the political landscape, and this lecture by Carwyn Jones will assess the challenges of leaving the EU within Welsh, UK and international contexts. It will set the stage for a series of centenary lectures that brings together important leaders in our discipline to address the major global issues of the 21st century.”

Other speakers during the 2018-19 Centenary Speakers Series include:

• Professor Cynthia Enloe, Research Professor at Clark University, Massachusetts – 15 November 2018
• Professor Michael Cox, Director of LSE IDEAS and Emeritus Professor of International Relations at LSE – 4 December 2018
• Professor Louise Richardson – Vice-Chancellor, University of Oxford – 7 February 2019
• Professor Ken Booth – President of the David Davies Memorial Institute and former Head of the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth – 21 February 2019
• Professor Steve Smith – Vice-Chancellor, Exeter University, and former Head of the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth – 5 March 2019.
• Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, Financial Times – 28 March 2019
• Professors John Ikenberry (Princeton University) and Dan Deudney (John Hopkins University), April 2019

History
The Department of International Politics was established in 1919, shortly after the end of the First World War in which more than 100 Aberystwyth University students were killed.

Mid Wales businessman, benefactor and politician David Davies (the future Lord Davies of Llandinam) and his sisters Gwendoline and Margaret decided to donate £20,000 to commemorate the fallen students and to establish “a global centre of learning and research on international politics in Aberystwyth”.

In a letter to the University in autumn 1918, David Davies wrote: “It has occurred to my sisters and myself that the University of Wales and the Council of the College may be willing to allows us to found a Chair of International Politics at Aberystwyth, in memory of the fallen students of our university, for the study of those related problems of law and politics, of ethics and economics, which are raised by the project of a League of Nations, and for the encouragement of a truer understanding of civilisation, other than our own.”

Aberystwyth therefore became home to the world’s first chair in international politics, which was named in honour of the American president Woodrow Wilson – the man whose name is synonymous with the creation of the League of Nations for the maintenance of international justice and the preservation of peace.

As part of the 2018-19 centenary year, a special reunion for alumni of the Department of International Politics will be held in June 2019.

Further details about the centenary are available on website of the Department of International Politics.

Links:
Department of International Politics
https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/interpol/

International Politics Centenary
https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/interpol/about/centenary/