Wayne Pivac has promised the Scarlets can step things up a level in Belfast on Friday night where they hope to inflict a rare home defeat on Ulster.
The Scarlets coach has been satisfied with his Guinness Pro14 champions in their opening two victories – which included bonus points and 13 tries – but believes there is much more to unload.
Pivac has brought the extended rest of Lions pair Jonathan Davies and Ken Owens to an end and both start against opponents he believes will force the Scarlets to go up a notch.
“We haven’t hit our top performance levels yet but we wouldn’t expect it,” he said. “We were on zero points after three rounds last year so we’re in a much better position and very happy to be there.”
“It’s a great place to go with a fantastic crowd. They sell it out and it’s not an easy place to go. We’re going to really look forward to that opportunity but we know it’s going to be a big challenge.”
Club captain Owens has been parachuted straight into the starting line-up, while Lions man of the series Jonathan Davies is on the bench.
Marquee signing Leigh Halfpenny, who starts at full back, and Welsh international lock Jake Ball, are the only other changes to the side which thrashed Zebre 41-10 last weekend.
The champions will be looking to maintain their perfect start to the season after opening round victories over the Southern Kings and Zebre.
“We talked about getting off to a better start than last year,” added Pivac.
“We expected to as a group as we’ve been together a while now. We expected to get a better start and we have done that, but there’s still plenty to work on.
“It’s well documented how we want to play the game. We adjust our play slightly in terms of where we attack from depending on the weather. You can only play what’s in front of you.
“Friday is definitely a step up and it’s two unbeaten teams. We have the utmost respect for Ulster, they have a lot of strike power.
“It’s going to be a good test for us at the Kingspan. That’s what the players want. They want to come up against world-class players and you want to challenge yourself against the best.”
Ulster have made four changes to the side that scrapped a 21-14 victory over Treviso in Italy last weekend.
Irish international Chris Henry returns from injury to captain the side while centre Luke Marshall, loose-head prop Kyle McCall and lock Alan O’Connor also come in to the starting XV.
Ulster: L Ludik, A Trimble, L Marshall, S McCloskey, J Stockdale, C Lealiifano, J Cooney; K McCall, R Herring, W Herbst, K Treadwell, A O’Connor, M Rea, C Henry, S Reidy.
Replacements: J Andrew, A Warwick, R Ah You, R Diack, C Ross, P Marshall, P Nelson, T Bowe.
Scarlets: L Halfpenny, J McNicholl, H Parkes, S Williams, S Evans, R Patchell, G Davies, R Evans, K Owens (capt), S Lee, J Ball, T Beirne, A Shingler, W Boyde, J Barclay
Replacements: R Elias, W Jones, W Kruger, D Bulbring, J Macleod, J Evans, R Jones, J Davies.
