Scarlets v Racing Metro 92 - Preview

Wales scrum-halves past and present face each other when Racing 92 look to cement their place in the Champions Cup knock-out stages against Scarlets.

Gareth Davies was selected ahead of Racing's Mike Phillips for the World Cup, with Phillips subsequently retiring from international rugby.

A win will seal top spot in Pool Three for Racing with a game left.

World Cup winner Dan Carter will play at centre for the French side, with Remi Tales starting at fly-half.

Scarlets have lost all four of their pool matches, including a 29-12 defeat at home to Racing in November.

The injury-hit Welsh region have 14 players unavailable, including seven internationals.

But flanker Rory Pitman is back after nearly four months on the sidelines with a torn bicep, and George Earle returns in the second row after recovering from a calf muscle injury.

Head coach Wayne Pivac says his team - top of the Pro12 table - will benefit from the experience of playing against the Parisian club.

"Racing are a class side and they're playing very well at the moment," he said.

"You're up against some of the great players in the world. It's a great challenge for us and that's the way we're approaching it."

Racing 92

Brice Dulin; Louis Dupichot, Dan Carter, Casey Laulala, Juan Imhoff; Remi Tales, Mike Phillips; Eddy Ben Arous, Dimitri Szarzewski (capt), Ben Tameifuna, Luke Charteris, Manuel Carizza, Yannick Nyanga, Bernard Le Roux, Antonie Claassen.

Replacements: Camille Chat, Julien Brugnaut, Martin Castrogiovanni, Thibault Dubarry, Chris Masoe, Maxime Machenaud, Henry Chavancy, Johannes Goosen

Scarlets

Michael Collins; Steffan Evans, Regan King, Hadleigh Parkes, DTH van der Merwe; Steven Shingler, Gareth Davies; Phil John, Ken Owens (capt), Samson Lee, George Earle, Maselino Paulino, Rory Pitman, Aaron Shingler, Morgan Allen

Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Wyn Jones, Rhodri Jones, Tom Price, Tom Phillips, Rhodri Williams, Daniel Jones, Steffan Hughes

Referee: Matthew Carley (England)

Touch judges: Ian Tempest (England), Wayne Falla (England)

TMO: David Grashoff (England)

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Racing Deny Halfpenny Contact

Photo: rgmcdtt

Racing Metro have distanced themselves from making an approach for British & Irish Lions star Leigh Halfpenny with their president Jacky Lorenzetti denying any contact with the fullback's representatives.

Halfpenny, whose contract is up at the end of the season, is one of the most sought after players in world rugby having starred for both Wales and the Lions in recent times. Earlier in the year, he was named the Six Nations Player of the Championship having slotted 74 points for Wales and helped them secure their second northern hemisphere title in as many seasons.

And for the Lions, Halfpenny shone for the tourists scooping the Player of the Series award for a host of superb performances including his man of the match showing in the final Test.

With fellow Lions Dan Lydiate, Jonathan Sexton and Jamie Roberts preparing for life at Racing Metro next season, Halfpenny has been heavily linked with a move to join them in France. But despite reports in the Rugby Paper stating that Toulon, Clermont and Metro had all met Halfpenny's representatives, the Parisian side have released a statement denying any contact.

"Racing Metro 92, through its president Jacky Lorenzetti, wishes to deny this information. The club is not one of the proposed bidding agents."

Despite Metro's apparent distancing from Halfpenny, the Welsh Rugby Union is still on high alert as it attempts to keep one of Wales' top players at his current region the Cardiff Blues. The Blues' CEO Richard Holland is fully aware of the uphill battle that his organisation faces with the Top 14 clubs able to offer Halfpenny a bigger deal.

And Holland has confirmed the Blues will be helped financially by the WRU when they sit down and offer Halfpenny a new contract.

"We haven't got three-quarters of a million to put on the table, or half a million," Holland told the Rugby Paper. "I will be honest with his representatives and tell them what we can afford. There has to be a realisation that we can only afford so much.

"All I can do is put forward something which is competitive and we are confident we can broker a deal to keep Leigh at the Blues. The WRU has made additional funds available."