Match preview: Scarlets v Glasgow Warriors, Challenge Cup semi-final 2022/23

KO 5.30 at Parc y Scarlets
Saturday 29th April 2023
Live on S4C (also BT Sport 3)

Information on where to watch S4C can be found here.

• Glasgow are contesting their first ever European semi-final.
• Scarlets have 4 previous European semi-finals behind them (all defeats) but this is the first time they have hosted a match at this stage
• Both sides are therefore looking to make a final (in either the Challenge Cup or Champions Cup) for the first time.
• In fact, the Challenge Cup is guaranteed to have a first time winner this season with Toulon and Benetton on the other side of the draw (Toulon have contested 4 previous finals in this tournament but have lost all 4).
• Just 12 of the 30 starters were also in their respective XVs when these sides met 2 weeks ago. Combined with entirely different conditions (biblical rain at Scotstoun versus an altogether more pleasant forecast for Saturday evening in Llanelli) it renders that most recent encounter – a 12 – 9 win for Glasgow – almost entirely meaningless in the context of this semi-final.
• The home side only managed a single win (v Zebre) in their first 5 matches at Parc y Scarlets this season but have since won 8 in a row on their own turf across the URC (4) and Challenge Cup (4).
• The Tongan Tank, Sione Vailanu, is the Warrior to Watch.

Teams

(players in CAPITALS are full capped internationals, numbers in brackets are previous appearances for Glasgow / Scarlets in this season’s Challenge Cup)

Head to Head:

Back 3 – EVEN

Centres – ADV Glasgow

Half Backs – ADV Scarlets

Front Row – EVEN

Second Row – ADV Glasgow

Back Row – ADV Glasgow

Subs – ADV Glasgow

Changes From Quarter-Finals:

Scarlets have made 4 changes from the side that beat Clermont 32 – 30.

• 15. McNicholl for Halfpenny
• 1. W. Jones for Mathias
• 4/8. M. Jones for Kalamfoni with Fifita moving from 4 to 8
• 6/7. Davis for Shingler with MacLeod moving from 7 to 6

Glasgow have made 4 changes from the side that beat Lions 31 – 21.

• 11/14. Cancelliere for Dobie with Steyn moving from 14 to 11
• 12/13. McDowall for Jones with Tuipulotu moving from 12 to 13
• 10. Jordan for Miotti
• 6/7. Vailanu for M. Fagerson with Darge moving from 7 to 6

Matchday Milestones:

Little brother Jonny has been a Warrior Centurion since April 2019 (a game in which he won the Player of the Match award – something for big bro to emulate?) and now Richie Gray will join his sibling in that exclusive club.

There have been some extended paths to reach the century of appearances – Sean Lamont took 12 years, 6 months and 29 days while Dougie Hall had to wait 13 years and 26 days – but the gap between Richie’s 1st and 100th blows them all out the water. 14 years, 1 month and 21 days have elapsed since the big lock came off the bench against Ulster in March 2009.

The Grays join Gordon and Alan Bulloch as, currently, the only pairs of brother to both be Warrior Centurions. That’s likely to change in fairly short order though with George Horne (97th appearance) and Matt Fagerson (93rd appearance) soon to join their elder siblings in the 100 club.

Warrior to Watch:

Sione Vailanu had to wait until the 5th game of the season to make his Glasgow debut and the following week for his first start. He announced himself to the Scotstoun faithful in style with a 62-metre gallop from the base of the ruck against Benetton.

Since then the Tongan Tank has been as hard to shift from the Glasgow lineup as he is when jackalling at the ruck. He has started 17 out the last 20 games the club has played, only missing out when the side was heavily rotated for away games against Bath and Perpignan plus the Lions quarter-final when he was unavailable through injury.

The giant back row has only played once for Tonga in the last 4 years but has shown all-time career best form for Glasgow and has surely put himself in contention for a place in the squad for the World Cup later this year. That could of course put him on a collision course to play against a whole rake of his Warriors’ colleagues in Pool B!

Glasgow away to Scarlets:

• 6 wins
• 12 losses
• Glasgow haven’t won at Parc y Scarlets since April 2016.
• The Welsh side have won 7 of the last 10 encounters at this venue including the last 3 by margins of 25, 18 and 24 points.

Last win v Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets:

Officials:

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
AR1: Pierre Brousset (FFR)
AR2: Tual Trainini (FFR)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)

M. Raynal’s regular season record for 2022/23:

Matches – 17
Average penalty count – 22.2 per game
Home side penalties conceded percentage – 45.6%
Average card count – 1.1 per game
Penalties per card – 19.8

This will be the 8th time that M. Raynal has taken charge of a game involving Glasgow – although he last refereed a Warriors’ game back in December 2020. It’s also the French official’s first action in the Challenge Cup since September 2020.

For fans of positive omens, M. Raynal was the ref when Glasgow beat Leicester 42 – 13 at home and 43 – 0 away and when they beat Scarlets 43 – 6 at home (he was also in charge when the Warriors lost 42 – 0 away to Exeter but let’s just gloss over that one…)

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Additional ref stats from:

https://www.cardiffrfcfans.com/analysis/referee_heads.php?countryID=5