It’s winner-takes-all at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday as Scarlets take on RC Vannes for a place in the knockout stages of the EPCR Challenge Cup.
Head coach Dwayne Peel sat down to speak to the media to preview the pool finale against the side from Brittany.
Dwayne, firstly, how do you reflect on last weekend’s defeat to Gloucester?
DP: “We were pretty frustrated, I felt we had the game-plan to be competitive and we were competitive to the 80 minutes, we just weren’t clinical. We had plenty of ball, lots of possession, plenty of opportunities on the edges and five or six line-outs within 15 metres of their line that we didn’t convert and they converted three of theirs which was 21 points. We didn’t attack or move the ball as we have been, we were a bit clunky, it was a bit stop-start, but we did have plenty of opportunities.
“We have to be critical of ourselves, we turned a lot of their ball over, we got amongst them but they were more clinical when it mattered. We are not going to beat ourselves up, the reality is we have been better than that this season and we need to improve on that clinical edge. It was a great occasion, the away support was superb, we just need to lick our wounds and move on to this week because it is vitally important to get back on the horse straight away.
What are your thoughts on Vannes’ form this season?
DP: “I have been impressed with Vannes, their league position isn’t reflective of their competitiveness, especially at home where they have been very competitive. They lost to Clermont by a point and pushed Edinburgh last week having made a few changes from their Top14 side the week before.
“Vannes were really physical with Edinburgh who had to work hard to win that game, we have to be right up for that this week. Their scrum is going to be powerful, as are most French scrums. We have to get ourselves right mentally to be in that physical battle.
“We know a few of their guys like Sione Kalamafoni who has been outstanding for them, we know the quality he possesses and someone like Francis Saili, who played last weekend, is a good player. It is a straight shootout, the pool is definitely the most competitive pool in the competition and hopefully we can finish well this week.”
How big a blow was the injury to Sam Costelow?
DP: “It was a blow and it shook us a bit, Ioan Lloyd had a bump before it as well. It does hurt you undoubtedly and I’m disappointed for him personally because he has grown into his game over the last couple of weeks and led the team well in the week before the game. He is likely to have surgery this week and then be out for a fairly lengthy time which is disappointing for him and for us.”
Are there any other injury updates?
DP: “We have a fairly clean bill of health. There are a couple of guys coming back into contention, the likes of Steff Evans and Tomi Lewis are taking a full part in training and I’m hoping Steff will play some part in Super Rygbi Cymru this weekend to get some minutes under his belt.”
How pleased are you that two of your relatively unknown summer signings, Blair Murray and Ellis Mee, have been selected for the Six Nations?
DP: “It is great when that happens. When we scanned what was available we were excited by what we saw in both of them, both were under-the-radar signings. You have to give credit to James Davies, who looks after our recruitment. James made that spot and did a lot of homework and groundwork on both of those players and along with myself had a look at bringing them in.
“Cubby is excellent, he is a student of the game and has a great eye. He said ‘I have seen this kid, he is Welsh qualified and we should have a look at him’. We got him down here for a chat. It is a long process, but once you see something, we loved his intent, he had a real intent to his game when he was playing for Nottingham, he had a gliding way to his running, which we are seeing now and he has been doing a good job for us this season. James is good at that and spends a lot of time on the laptop which is all part of the process.
“Sometimes you see good athletes and then it is the rugby nous you have to work on, but Ellis had that rugby nous, from a skill aspect he has a lot to offer. He has rugby ability as well as his athleticism, which is why I haven’t been overly surprised by what he has done. In the air he is like an Aussie Rules player who gets high, he has the ability to hang in the air, a bit like someone like Fredddie Steward for England. He doesn’t say much, he is a very quiet guy off the field, I am chuffed for him and his family. This (Six Nations) will be a big step up but I am delighted he has had the opportunity.”
How important is this Vannes game to your season?
DP: “If you look at our season, it is really important you have the opportunity to have knockout rugby after the Six Nations. The pool itself is a bit like the old European pools where it comes down to the final weekend; the competitiveness in the pool is high, every team has won games. You win your home games and you give yourself a good chance of going through. It is important to firstly get a win, everything else is obviously a bonus, we are at home on Saturday and it is in our control.”