Standing at 6ft 4, the 20-year-old wing has impressed for Carmarthen Quins in Super Rygbi Cymru and was called up by Great Britain 7s for the Singapore and Perth legs of the World Series in January.
The Cardigan-born back has been working in training with Wales and British and Irish Lions great Liam Williams, and he gets his chance on the right wing in place of Ellis Mee, who sustained an ankle injury in last weekend’s URC loss to Cardiff.
There is also a change on the other wing with Macs Page starting in place of Tom Rogers, who is going through return-to-play head injury protocols.
In the centre, Joe Roberts gets the nod in the No 13 jersey, partnering Eddie James who moves to inside centre, while Joe Hawkins and Dane Blacker continue at half-back.
In the pack there is just one enforced change, with Wales prop Henry Thomas coming in at tight-head for Archer Holz, who is also recovering from a head knock.
Kemsley Mathias and Ryan Elias continue in an all-Wales front row, while Sam Lousi continues his partnership with Max Douglas at lock.
Taine Plumtree, skipper Fletcher Anderson and Jarrod Taylor continue in an unchanged back row, while another breakaway forward, Dan Davis, will make his 100th Scarlets appearance if he comes off the bench.
Marnus van der Merwe, Josh Morse, Harri O’Connor and Jac Price provide the rest of the forward cover, with Archie Hughes, Carwyn Leggatt-Jones and Ioan Jones covering the backline.
Josh Macleod, Sam Costelow, Jake Ball, Alec Hepburn are all unavailable due to injury. Though boss Nigel Davies hopes captain Macleod, fresh from signing a new deal with the region, will be fit for the grudge tie with Ospreys in Bridgend next weekend.
“Josh [Macleod] is not quite there; he’s up to about 80/85%. We are hoping he will be back for the Ospreys game, that’s the plan,” said Scarlets Interim Director of Rugby Nigel Davies in his pre-match press conference.
“There are a couple of players who are out with an HIA. Tom Rogers and Archer Hotz, whilst Ellis Mee doesn’t look like he’s playing again for a while.”
Scarlets come into the game 14th in the URC table, looking to respond to their late capitulation to region rivals Cardiff, where 21 points were conceded in the final 10 minutes to blow the chance of victory.
“Last weekend’s result hurt, but the response this week has been exactly what you want to see,” continued Davies.
“There’s been honesty, energy and a real determination to move forward together.
“We are very clear as a group that our discipline hasn’t been where it needs to be and that sits with me. It’s my responsibility to ensure we get that right because it’s impacting our performance and results.”
Eighth-place Bulls arrive at Parc y Scarlets needing a win to keep up their bid for the play-offs with Connacht hot on their heels.
“The Bulls bring a big, physical challenge, but these are the games you want to be involved in,” added Davies.
“We’ve shown before that we can compete with them and we’ve got the ability within this group to do that again.
“There’s a nice balance to the side. Some exciting young players get their chance and experience against a challenging Bulls side – blended with enough experience and leadership to deliver the performance we’re after.
“For us, these games are about standards. What we produce now sets the tone for everything that comes next.”
Scarlets XV:
15 Blair Murray, 14 Callum Woolley, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Eddie James, 11 Macs Page, 10 Joe Hawkins, 9 Dane Blacker,
1 Kelmsey Mathias, 2 Ryan Elias, 3 Henry Thomas, 4 Sam Lousi, 5 Max Douglas, 6 Taine Plumtree, 7 Jarrod Taylor, 8 Fletcher Anderson (captain).
Replacements:
16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Josh Morse, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Jac Price, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, 23 Ioan Jones.
[Lead image: Scarlets Rugby]
