Welsh Regions looking to kickstart their campaign in South Africa

At the second time of asking the highly anticipated battles of the North Hemisphere vs South Hemisphere in the United Rugby Championship on South African soil will commence when the Scarlets take on the Cell C Sharks at Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium tomorrow evening.

Cardiff Rugby have also made the journey to the home of the World champions, with them kicking off their fixtures down South against the Emirates Lions on Sunday.

This will be a highly anticipated period for both clubs because the last time they both made the journey to south Africa they were sent home packing, with the Omicron variant halting their trip before any games being played.

Whilst Scarlets managed to successfully make it out of South Africa and quarantining for 10 days in England upon their arrival back in the UK, it was a different story for Cardiff, with two positive cases they were stuck quarantining in South Africa unaware of when they could leave.

Upon their second arrival, the men from West Wales have set up camp in Durban and have been using Northwood School’s facilities for training ahead of their opening fixture.

Scarlets’ head coach Dwayne Peel has said.

“We are the first team from the north to travel down to play, it is a game everyone is looking forward to. I am sure the experience the guys will gain from this game will be huge moving forward.

“We have had a couple of good training days here. The boys have enjoyed their stay so far and are looking forward to a good occasion on Friday night. They are a star-studded team with a lot of Springbok internationals.”

Springboks’ captain Syia Kolisi will also be taking the captaincy of the Sharks, with regular captain and fellow Springbok Lukhanyo Am joining Kobelco Kobe Steelers on a short-term deal.

Meanwhile Cardiff have been given a boost with the returning Ellis Jenkins after he was released from Wales by Wayne Pivac, with Josh Navidi being added to the Wales team to play France tomorrow.

With Dai Young’s men getting a trouncing from Ulster last week, he has opted to take this opportunity to give youngsters Theo Cabango and Jacob Beetham a chance in the squad, after some poor performances by the current back three as of late.

Both men have been given the opportunity after impressing for Cardiff whilst most of the squad was stuck in quarantine last time out, also impressing for Cardiff RFC in the Indigo Group Premiership this season.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt