THE Scarlets will monitor the fitness of full-back Morgan Stoddart and fly-half Rhys Priestland ahead of Saturday's Magners League opener in Treviso after the duo picked up injuries in Friday night's 24-20 win over Exeter.

Stoddart was withdrawn after just half an hour after feeling a hamstring niggle, while Priestland suffered a shoulder problem and was replaced late on.

"Both should be okay," said head coach Nigel Davies.

"It was a precaution with Morgan. Obviously with the problems he has had over the past couple of years he is going to get these scares.

"He felt a niggle and we thought it best to bring him off.

"As for Rhys, he hyper-extended his shoulder, but again he should be okay for Treviso."

After a summer with virtually a full-strength squad at his disposal, Davies will be hoping the injury curse of the past two years doesn't strike again. Stoddart, after 18 months plagued by setbacks, has been looking sharp in his two pre-season outings, while Priestland has been arguably the stand-out player of the three-match warm-up.

Davies has Wales and British Lions fly-half Stephen Jones up his sleeve if Priestland doesn't figure in Treviso, but the experienced Wales No. 10 hasn't taken the field yet and was due to be rested for the trip to Italy.

Wales Under-20s talent Steve Shingler, who played for Llanelli in the Premiership on Saturday, would be another option in the No. 10 jersey.

After coasting into a 17-3 lead against the Chiefs, the Scarlets were made to work hard for their second victory in a week at Parc y Scarlets.

But Davies believes the run-out would have served his side well ahead of what promises to be an equally physical test in Treviso.

"I think it was an ideal game for us in terms of our preparations for going to Italy," added Davies.

"The big thing we would have learned was that we need to look after the ball far better, particularly at the contact area where they caused us a lot of problems. We were very loose there.

"There are also a number of opportunities we could have finished off.

"But the big thing was the win. That was the type of game we were losing last year and it is important that we learn how to close games out.

"We are playing with a lot of confidence at the moment.

"We have got to be careful, we need to get the mix right, but there was a lot of good stuff out there and had we taken our chances in the first half we could have put the game to bed."

Samoan back-rower Jonny Fa'amatuainu enjoyed 20 minutes on his Scarlets debut, catching the eye with some traditional South Sea Island skills.

The on-loan Bath signing was able to be drafted into the match-day squad after the paperwork approving his work visa came through on Friday afternoon.

Treviso, meanwhile, lost their final pre-season match when they were beaten 28-6 by Sale Sharks at Edgeley Park.

Robert Lloyd