Ulster aim to make it three wins on the bounce, after successive home victories against Cardiff and Benetton. Those two wins put the province in a good position going into the final three rounds, with Ulster sitting in seventh position and primed for an assault on the play-off positions.
Scarlets is the first fixture before two huge interprovincial clashes against Leinster at home on Saturday 18 May, and then Munster away to finish off the regular URC season.
Saturday's Welsh opponents are very capable of putting in big performances, especially at home.
In Round 12, Scarlets edged Benetton by 16-13, showing they could score and defend well against an in-form team.
In the last URC match, Dwayne Peel's men were involved in a cracking game at Parc y Scarlets against Hollywoodbets Sharks.
The final score was 27-32 to the Sharks, who just edged the match from an attacking sense.
Future Ulster Rugby player, Werner Kok, caused most of the damage, with an impressive hat trick of tries on the night. Scarlets fly-half, Sam Costelow was on the money with his kicks from the tee, nailing five out of five on the night.
How it stands
Match Details
🏟️ Parc y Scarlets
📅 Saturday 11 May
🕰️ 3.05pm
🏆 BKT United Rugby Championship, Round 16
📺 Premier Sports, URC.tv
Last time out
Ulster's last visit to the Scarlets was a cracker. The Ulstermen left with a bonus point victory in a thrilling 39-55 slugfest, that would have been a great watch for any neutrals. John Cooney was the Player of the Match, after two tries, three assists and 30 points in total for the scrum-half.
Ulster had secured their bonus point before the break, as they scored four tries through captain Alan O'Connor, Marty Moore, Cooney and Marcus Rea.
The Scarlets had went two tries down through O'Connor and Moore in the early stages, but rallied with two tries to make it an even contest. After a counter attack from Aaron Sexton, the winger was cleared out by Sam Costelow, who was sent to the sin-bin and the Welsh side were punished by Ulster.
Dwayne Peel's side came out for the second half eager to get back into the game, and did so early on through Vaea Fifita. A John Cooney penalty minutes later put another three points on the board for the province before a converted Billy Burns try extended Ulster's lead.
The back and forth nature of the match was shown by two Dafydd Hughes tries for the Scarlets, either side of Ulster's sixth try of the contest through John Cooney, who would convert his own try for the second time in the match.
A further penalty score and Tom O'Toole try at the death put an end to the madness which featured twelve tries and 94 points!
You can check out the full match report from the victory right here.
Players to watch
Ioan Lloyd - Scarlets are blessed with two solid options in the ten jersey, with Wales internationals in the form of Lloyd and Sam Costelow.
Lloyd has had a good season for his side, with 36 defenders beaten through the URC season, making him one of the best hot-steppers in the league. Lloyd is the Scarlets top points scorer so far this season, with 59 points to his name. The fly-half also played for Wales during the 2024 Guinness Six Nations.
Alex Craig - A Scotland international lock, who has his Head Coach, Dwayne Peel, singing his praises for performances this season. Craig is very busy in his work, with big carries and work effort. Craig has made 181 tackles in the URC this season, the second most of any player. Craig will no doubt look to dominate and disrupt Ulster at the breakdown and lineouts.
Johnny Williams - A Welsh international centre who carries well, a phyical presence in the Scarlets midfield and a try threat.