Derby day arrives for Wales hopefuls before autumn internationals

Sam Parry (Ospreys), Cory Hill (Dragons), Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets), Ellis Jenkins (Cardiff Blues)

Wales' four regions face off for the first time this season on Saturday when Scarlets host Ospreys and Cardiff Blues travel to face Dragons.

Local pride and rugby rivalries will be only part of the picture.

With less than a year to go before the World Cup in Japan it is an opportunity to impress Wales coach Warren Gatland, who is due to name his squad for the autumn internationals on Tuesday, 16 October.

It's a fact not wasted on Wayne Pivac, the Scarlets head coach who will take over from Gatland with Wales after the World Cup.

"I love these games, it brings the best out of the players," said the New Zealander.

"There's a lot at stake, there's national selection just around the corner so there's everything to play for and it's a local derby and everyone wants to win the game."

So who has the most to prove and how can they achieve their aim?

Wayne Pivac is a former Fiji coach

Number one number nine?

Well let's start at half-back, where the last two players to wear the number nine shirt for Wales are set to line up against each other at Parc Y Scarlets.

To add spice to the mix, Aled Davies joined Ospreys from Scarlets in the close season after failing to oust Gareth Davies as first choice.

This gives Pivac a unique insight into the scrum-halves.

"Aled's close skills, kicking and passing, are very good while Gareth has instinctive running," Pivac said.

"Gareth's got that extra bit of pace and when it comes to picking his moments he's probably one of the best around at that.

"One is more of a running threat, one's a very good passer and kicker of the ball.

• Preview: Scarlets v Ospreys

"We understand why Aled left and there's no hard feelings there at all. He's hell of a nice guy and I just hope he doesn't go too well at the weekend."

Another twist in this selection story is the fact Aled Davies joined Ospreys to fill the place vacated by Rhys Webb's move to Toulon.

It is a move which also opened up a place with Wales with the British and Irish Lions number nine ruled out of the national reckoning by strict rules on the selection of players based outside Wales.

Otherwise this could have been a showdown between Webb and Gareth Davies.

Can Sam be the man again?

No position dominates more clubhouse discussions in Wales than fly-half.

But with Dan Biggar plying his trade in Northampton and unaffected by Wales selection policies because he has more than 60 caps, it could be a case of three players battling to be his Wales understudy.

The man best placed to benefit could be Biggar's old Ospreys team-mate Sam Davies.

In November 2016 Davies came off the bench to save Welsh blushes with a winning drop-goal against Japan in Cardiff, but has failed to build on that promise with Wales.

After an impressive start to the season he'll be up against Rhys Patchell, who started for Wales against Scotland and England in the 2018 Six Nations.

Life after Warburton

Gatland's selection later this month will be the first in the post-Sam Warburton era.

In truth Wales played the whole of the 2017-18 season without the Blues and Lions open-side, although at that stage he was expected to return.

His retirement means Wales' number seven shirt is up for grabs with no shortage of candidates on show in these matches.

A year ago Ospreys skipper Justin Tipuric would have been seen as a natural replacement.

But that was before Blues' Josh Navidi impressed in the 2017 autumn series with Scarlets' James Davies and Blues Ellis Jenkins both appearing in the seven shirt during the summer 2018 tour.

Suddenly things do not appear so clear cut.

Tipuric will not have a chance to prove himself against Davies, who is ruled out with a knee injury until after Christmas, but has scored six tries in an impressive start to the season.

In Newport, Jenkins is likely to go head to head with Ollie Griffiths, whose one Wales cap came as a replacement against Tonga in June 2017.

Navidi, whose power and versatility earned him favour with Gatland, is likely to be on Blues' blind-side.

Bernard Jackman is a former Ireland hooker

"I rate Ellis Jenkins really highly and I'm lucky enough to work with Ollie every day and I think he's got huge potential," said Dragons coach Bernard Jackman.

"There's a hell of a lot of good back rows in Wales, I'm lucky that I have a number of them, and you like to see them playing against each other.

"It's a positive generally in the Welsh derbies the best players play. It's great to see the players battle it out for a position in the pecking order."

What is at stake for regions?

Scarlets are on a run of three successive wins against Ospreys in a series which the Swansea-based region have previously dominated.

Pivac expects Ospreys, with four wins out of five so far and a much improved defence, to be a tougher proposition this season.

• Preview: Dragons v Cardiff Blues

It should be remembered, however, that Scarlets, although unbeaten at home in the league since September 2016, needed a last-minute try to beat Ospreys in Llanelli on Boxing Day, 2017.

Form suggests Blues are on to a winner against Dragons.

The home team have lost 21 consecutive Welsh league derbies going back to Boxing Day 2014 when they beat the Cardiff region.

Time for Jackman's men to finally break that cycle perhaps?