The game is being held as a tribute to the great former Scarlet captain, who announced this year he was stepping down as captain of the region after five consecutive seasons leading the region's squad.
The Scarlets will host Bath at home on Saturday August 22nd kicking off at 4pm and organisers are hoping for a great summer's afternoon of rugby and entertainment to grace the important traditional 'rag doll' fixture.
Rupert Moon, Commercial Director of the Scarlets said: "This encounter has always been a great one and epitomes the best of the Anglo-Welsh battles. We are proudly Welsh and Bath are proudly English and playing for the tradition of the rag doll has always given the game a little more of a competitive edge and more meaning.
"We are hoping that our supporters will turn out in force to support Simon in his testimonial match as well. As one of our greatest Scarlets of the last decade, is it fitting that he should hold his testimonial game at this traditional fixture - particularly as this game was such an important one to Grav and Simon is supporting The Ray Gravell and Friends charity as part of his testimonial year."
Tickets are now on sale at Parc y Scarlets for the fixture, which has been fixed at a family friendly time of 4pm to encourage crowds of younger viewers to the game as well. Prices are £10 for adults and £5 for juniors (8-16) and under-8s go free within the stadium.
The 'rag doll' fixture is one of rugby's oldest traditions. The doll will be tied to one of the uprights at Parc y Scarlets for the first time wearing the colours of the winning side from the last encounter - Bath who won 24 - 16 against the Scarlets at the Rec on 23rd August 2008.
The three foot tall doll has been a permanent fixture of matches between the two great sides for around a century. It is hoisted up to the upright where it is strapped in place to view the battle between the two rugby sides and is then presented to the winning captain at the end of the game.
Simon Easterby, who will be playing in his first match in his new role as Scarlets new player-coach said:"We are really looking forward to this match, we hope it will be a great one to watch and that there is a good atmosphere in the stadium.
"The boys have been working hard over the summer on pre-season fitness and skills and are gearing up well to the start of the next campaign in early September. This will be a good competitive game for both sides we get back into our match preparations and with a number of new Scarlets faces for our supporters to watch for the first time, we would hope that there will be a few thousand there to support us.
"I have been honoured to be part of this very special rugby club and region for over a decade and have always had such great support; my testimonial year also gives me the opportunity to thank supporters, my fellow players and Scarlets colleagues for what they have done to make my rugby career in Llanelli such a memorable and happy time."
Scarlets Head Coach Nigel Davies is expected to announce his team for the friendly on Wednesday 19th August. See the Scarlets website for more details www.scarlets.co.uk.
The Scarlets will return to Bath at the Recreation Ground on Friday 28th August 2009 at 6.30pm for information please visit Bath's website at www.bathrugby.com.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The teams first met in October 1896 with Llanelli winning 8 - 0
- Since regional rugby, the teams have played three times, with Scarlets winning one, Bath winning two.
- The teams have played in one competitive game which was the semi-final of the Anglo Welsh Cup in 2005/06 season in Cardiff which the Scarlets won 27 - 26.>
- The Scarlets lost their pre-season friendly against Bath last August 16 -24.
- For more information on Simon's testimonial year please visit www.simoneasterbytestimonial.com.
