Scarlets head coach Simon Easterby has called on his troops to make home advantage count against Glasgow Warriors this weekend – and for the remainder of the RaboDirect PRO12 season. The Welsh region started the campaign with a 42-19 loss to Leinster at the Parc y Scarlets but recovered somewhat in their next home clash against Treviso when they picked up a 26-10 victory. Last weekend they earned their first away win at Edinburgh but with the in-form Warriors arriving on Saturday Easterby is looking for some home comforts. The Scarlets do have previous – they have won their last five matches against Scottish opponents and have lost only once to the Warriors in their last six meetings: 9-19 at Firhill in February 2012. In order to maintain that impressive record Easterby has again named British & Irish Lion Jonathan Davies as captain, and he hopes that brings a response from the rest of his players. “We had a reaction from the players last week and we need to build on what we achieved in Edinburgh; going away and getting a result in this competition is good but we also have to improve our home form. Building home success is crucial for us this season,” said Easterby. “We have to feel confident and happy that we can play the type of rugby we want to, but winning rugby as well and ensuring we don't make the mistakes we did against Leinster when we just lost our composure and our way which allowed them back into the game. “Glasgow have been very impressive, they were strong at the end of last season and they have kicked off in the same vein. “They were a top-two side last year in the way they were playing and beating them at home for us at the end of the season was massive – we didn't allow them to get into their game and we will need to replicate that type of performance.” The Scarlets will certainly need to be on the top of their game – Glasgow have made a 100 per cent winning start to the 2013/14 season and have won their last six regular season games in the RaboDirect PRO12. The Warriors’ only loss to a Welsh region in their last eight such encounters was to Scarlets in this equivalent fixture last season and head coach Gregor Townsend is well aware of the threat they pose. In order to counter that, Townsend welcomes back fly-half Duncan Weir after almost six months out with a broken leg, and he is one of ten changes to the side that beat Zebre last time out. Weir forms a new half-back partnership with scrum-half Chris Cusiter, while Niko Matawalu starts on the right wing in place of Tommy Seymour and Sean Lamont replaces Byron McGuigan on the opposite flank. Mark Bennett comes in at outside centre to partner Alex Dunbar and in the front row Ryan Grant comes in for Gordon Reid, Pat MacArthur replaces Dougie Hall at hooker and Moray Low starts ahead of Jon Welsh. Elsewhere, Richie Vernon replaces the injured Josh Strauss at No. 8 but Townsend isn’t concerned by the number of changes. “ We've had a good week of training and the players are full of determination going into the game,” he said. "Scarlets are a very strong side who are well coached under Simon Easterby. They have a good record against us and we'll need to improve a number of aspects of our game if we're to come away with a positive result. "I'm delighted that Duncan (Weir) is able to re-join the squad after several months out of action. He has worked hard throughout his rehab and looked sharp in training, as well as during his recent games with Stirling County. "We were disappointed to lose both games against Scarlets last season, especially in Llanelli towards the end of the season and we're looking for a much better performance this weekend." At Parc y Scarlets, 6.30pm. Referee: Giuseppe Vivarini (FIR, 8th competition game) Assistant Referees: Chris Williams, Phil Fear (both WRU) Citing Commissioner: Ray Wilton (WRU) TMO: Tim Hayes (WRU) LIVE on S4C and BBC ALBA
