Delaney: Our defence is now an issue
GLENN Delaney insists the Scarlets must tackle their defensive problems if they are to make an impact in the Rainbow Cup.
The West Wales region conceded seven tries on their way to a 52-32 defeat at the Dragons in their opening game in the new competition.
It followed on from their 57-14 home drubbing by Sale Sharks in their last game, a match which saw them let in six tries and bow out of the Heineken Champions Cup at the last-16 stage.
Sunday’s game was the third time in their last seven outings Delaney’s men have conceded 50 points, with Leinster also reaching the mark in a PRO14 clash back in January.
It will also be an issue Dwayne Peel will want to be addressed quickly, with the former Wales scrum-half taking the reins as head coach at Parc y Scarlets next season.
“Defensively this season, it hasn’t been an issue until the last three games,” said Delaney, who will become the region’s director of rugby next term.
“Two months ago we were the best defensive team in the PRO14, but that seems to have gone by the wayside.
“For me, some of the tackling out there looked as if it was optional. We have got to make sure there is a hunger to enjoy the collisions and win them.
“If you are not controlling that gainline it is going to be difficult.”
He added: “I thought the game was in the balance for a while, but in the second half we didn’t control it well enough and they got some pretty cheap scores.
“We were missing one-up tackles and they were good enough to score. I thought we were unfortunate with the try that was disallowed just before half-time, but on the whole in the second half we didn’t control the game well enough.
“Yes, there were new combinations, so inevitably it is going to be disjointed, but the reality is, defensively we were poor in the second period.
“We weren’t winning the collisions and when you aren’t winning collisions it is going to be very hard to get back into the game.
“We showed when we got opportunities we could score, we just didn’t get enough of those chances.
“We can’t be happy with that today at all.”