Head coach Dwayne Peel has praised his side’ courage as they moved up to seventh in the URC standings with a 35-22 victory over Leinster.
It was a first win over the leading Irish province since 2018 and puts the West Walians firmly in the race for the play-offs with away matches in South Africa against the Emirates Lions and Hollywoodbets Sharks to come.
“We are proud of the courage we showed,” said Peel.
“The boys were hungry for it and the character was big. They were brave from the start and didn’t sit back.
“It was a pressure game and we’re delighted with the win. It means our future is in our own hands now going to South Africa. We’re looking forward to it. It’s a chance to make some history.
“The big goal this season was to be competitive and, for a large part of the year, we have been and we have got ourselves in a position where we’ve got it all to play for.”
Leinster’s only other defeat in their 22 matches in all competitions this season was a narrow league loss to the Bulls in Pretoria in March.
Such was the scale of the Scarlets’ convincing win.
The game proved to be a landmark occasion for their veteran scrum-half Gareth Davies who became the region’s record league try-scorer. In the URC He touched down for the 55th time to move clear of team-mate Steff Evans and go fifth on the competition’s all-time list.
Paying tribute to him, fellow former Wales No 9 Peel said: “He has got a knack for finishing and being in the right position.
“That comes from a bit of experience. It also comes from being fit. To run those lines, you’ve got to be on the shoulder all the time.
“He has played a hell of a lot of minutes for us this season, more than he’s probably ever played for the club and he’s 35. That’s testament to his preparation and his robustness.”