Scarlets coach Simon Easterby: Players focused on Edinburgh clash
SCARLETS head coach Simon Easterby insists his Wales squad members are fully focused on getting the region's campaign back on track in Edinburgh on Friday night — rather than what lies in wait in the ice chambers of Poland next week.
Easterby has confirmed that all 11 of his players selected for Rob Howley's autumn Test series will be available to travel to Scotland for a crucial RaboDirect Pro12 contest.
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Simon Easterby
Influential centre Jonathan Davies, who missed last Saturday's Heineken Cup defeat to Leinster because of a groin problem, will undergo a fitness test to determine whether he can feature.
But Easterby hopes he and the rest of his Wales stars will be firing on all cylinders as the Scarlets look to bounce back from the disappointment of a European campaign that already appears doomed to failure.
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"We are flying back from Edinburgh on Saturday morning and the players will then head up to London to meet up with Wales," said Easterby.
"I wouldn't have thought Wales would want players to have a three-week break before they play their first Test (against Argentina), unless there are individuals they have specified, but we haven't heard anything.
"As far as I am aware they are all available and their focus this week will not be on Poland I can tell you that."
Second in the RaboDirect Pro12 table, the Scarlets will view the next two matches — against a struggling Edinburgh side and home to basement dwellers Zebre — as an opportunity to cement their position in the all-important play-off positions.
And Easterby has urged his players to feed off the disappointment of their Heineken Cup setbacks and use them as motivation to challenge for honours in the league.
"The players now have an opportunity to go to Edinburgh and back up what we have done in the Rabo. We have put ourselves in a strong position and what we can't afford to do is let the last couple of weeks' disappointment affect that," he said.
"We have got to take the positives out of our last two matches and use the negatives as a motivating factor to kick on in the league."
Easterby is waiting on a couple of slight injury concerns, while full-back Jordan Williams is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after dislocating his shoulder playing for Llanelli RFC in the British and Irish Cup last weekend.
"It's a nasty one," admitted the former Ireland international. "He put his shoulder out and he is seeing a specialist next week to see if there's need for intervention.
"It is a blow for us and for Jordan. We have put a fair bit of energy and faith in him and he is delivering, he's been looking sharp.
"And in this period with the Welsh boys away he would have featured heavily for us."
Easterby also revealed that South African prop Jacobie Adriaanse will arrive on November 1.
Adriaanse's provincial side the Golden Lions were knocked out of the Currie Cup last weekend, but red tape surrounding his visa means the 27-year-old tight-head will not link up with the Scarlets squad until the start of next month.
Robert Lloyd
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