Scarlets forwards coach Danny Wilson insists the return of triumphant British and Irish Lion Jonathan Davies is just the boost the side need ahead of their RaboDirect PRO12 clash with Treviso. Davies comes onto the bench while head coach Simon Easterby makes one change from the side that lost to Leinster last time out. Young Wales U20 star Jordan Williams, who impressed during the summer’s World Championships, comes onto the wing in place of the injured Kristian Phillips as Scarlets look to avoid an unwanted piece of history. The Welsh region have never begun a RaboDirect PRO12 campaing with back-to-back defeats although they are currently on a three-match losing streak in the competition that stretches back to last season. But with Davies back in action Wilson is hoping his side can muster a response against their Italian opposition. “We know it’s going to be a good test – particularly up front but I was pleased with how the forwards performed in the first half of our game last weekend against an experienced Leinster line-up,” he said. “We put good pressure on Leinster’s scrum and I don’t think they would have been happy with that, I was pleased with line-out too and from forwards point of view, it was a good start to the season. “Many may not automatically associate the Scarlets for their up-front play in the past, but that’s an identity we want to banish. “The boys are working very hard and it’s also really encouraging for our future to see young Props like Samson Lee and Rob Evans stepping up against some very experienced front rowers and holding their own. “We know Treviso’s strength in driving line-out and that’s a tactic we have to deal with and we need to bring attitude and also know we can drive against them.” “It will be great for the team to have Jon Davies back in the shirt – we saw what he did in the summer. “His team-mates can feed off his confidence, energy and leadership and alongside the other senior players in our team hopefully we can improve on what happened in our first game.” Benetton Treviso gained a losing bonus point from their 19-24 defeat to Ospreys at Stadio Monigo in round 1 but have recorded just two victories in Wales in the history of this tournament: at Newport in 2012 and at Llanelli in May 2013. But Franco Smith’s side have beaten the Scarlets on three of their last four encounters including a 41-17 victory at Parc y Scarlets in round 22 last season. And the head coach is looking for more intensity this weekend in a side that shows four changes to get their first victory of the campaign. "Starting the season we have a system to get the players into a rhythm and ready but with injuries, tiredness and everything it takes time,” he said. "We have to remember we were playing against a team who came fifth last year and won the competition the year before. They know what to do to win. But with a bit more luck we could have won. "We want to use this game next week (against the Scarlets), to use the intensity which was completely different from our pre-season games. "We conceded two strange tries and were penalised too much. Our attacking maul was very good, a little less in defence. It's something we have been working on a lot." At Parc y Scarlets, 6.30pm. Referee: David Wilkinson (IRFU, 21st competition game) Assistant Referees: Neil Hennessy, Neil Perkins (both WRU) Citing Commissioner: Richard Gwynn (WRU) TMO: Paul Adams (WRU) Live on S4C
