European rugby takes centre stage this weekend for the opening round of the EPCR Challenge Cup and a first ever meeting in the competition between Scarlets and Newcastle Red Bulls.
The headlines are set to be dominated by the return to Parc y Scarlets of club legend Stephen Jones, who is assistant coach at Kingston Park, having joined the Newcastle revolution from Moana Pasifika last November.
Jones and Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel formed one of Scarlets’ and Wales’s greatest half-back pairings and their match-up provides an intriguing sub-plot to this Group A opener.
The two teams have only ever met three times in their history.
Scarlets won 45-33 in a pre-season match at Stradey Park in 2003; the first competitive fixture between the sides saw the Scarlets edge a 22-20 victory at home in a 2005 Anglo-Welsh Cup tie, and in the same tournament the following year, a Scarlets squad containing Peel and Jones went down to a 25-9 defeat in the North East.
The Red Bulls, formerly the Falcons before the high-profile investment from the global drinks brand, made a staggering 22 new signings over the course of the off-season, including the likes of All Black No. 8 Hoskins Sotuto, fellow Kiwi back-rower Max Hicks from Perpignan, all-action South African wing Werner Kok from Ulster and Scotland international prop Elliot Millar Mills.
They are yet to register a victory in the opening three rounds of the Gallagher PREM, but came away from Exeter’s Sandy Park with two bonus points on Sunday after giving the Chiefs a real scare in a 34-28 loss.
Wing Christian Wade crossed for a hat-trick of tries to close in on Chris Ashton’s all-time try record, while Hicks and former Crusaders flanker Tom Christie were others to stand out.
There is a new structure to European competition this season with the pool stages split between a round in October, another in December, followed by the final two ties in January.
Lyon host Sharks in the south of France and Benetton are home to Castres in the other matches in Group A this weekend.
Scarlets reached the semi-finals of the competition in 2023, beating the likes of Aviron Bayonnais, CA Brive and ASM Clermont Auvergne, before losing to a powerful Glasgow Warriors at Parc y Scarlets.
We will be wearing our striking new third kit for the first time on Saturday (8pm ko) so get your tickets for the start of our Challenge Cup quest HERE