Leicester bank on young blood against Scarlets
Picking a side to beat Llanelli in Sunday's Heineken Cup semi-final in Nottingham has been Dean Richards's trickiest selection of the season, writes Robert Kitson .
In the end the Tigers' director of rugby has plumped decisively for youth, choosing the teenagers Ollie Smith and Harry Ellis for a match billed by their captain Martin Johnson as "one of the biggest British club games I can remember".
Smith and Ellis, both 19, have been preferred to the more battle-hardened Leon Lloyd and Jamie Hamilton at centre and scrum-half respectively as Leicester seek to escape the physical stranglehold that Llanelli imposed in the two previous meetings between the clubs this season.
Richards's Llanelli counterpart Gareth Jenkins, who flew to Nottingham and back by helicopter yesterday as ballast for his heavyweight co-passenger Scott Quinnell, has named his strongest side despite uncertainty over Salesi Finau (hamstring), Neil Boobyer (ankle) and Leigh Davies (foot).
Finau remains the biggest doubt but 13,000 Welsh supporters, including 25 coach-loads from north Wales, will definitely be heading for the midlands intent on challenging the assumption that the selected venue will work in Leicester's favour.
Bath have decided to raid Wales to ensure their young squad contains more experienced heads next season. It was confirmed yesterday that the Cardiff hooker Jonathan Humphreys, 33, will be moving to the Rec this summer and there is speculation that the Lions scrum-half Rob Howley, another former Welsh captain, could follow.
Following last weekend's Powergen Cup final defeat Northampton have left the England pair Matt Dawson and Steve Thompson on the bench for tomorrow's Premiership encounter with Saracens.
Leicester: Stimpson; Murphy, Smith, Kafer, Tuilagi; Healey, Ellis; Rowntree, West, Garforth, Johnson (captain), Kay, Moody, Back, Corry. Replacements: Freshwater, Cockerill, Deacon, Balding, Hamilton, Lloyd, Goode.
Llanelli: Evans; M Jones, N Boobyer, L Davies, Finau; S Jones, G Easterby; Madden, McBryde, J Davies, Cooper, Wyatt, Hodges, S Easterby, Quinnell (capt). Replacements: Booth, Thomas, Gross, I Boobyer, Peel, Bowen, Proctor.
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