WE CAN’T AFFORD FOR EURO PLACES,
GLENN Delaney believes the fight for a spot in next season’s Champions Cup will go down to the wire.
The Kiwi saw his Scarlets side find some much-needed form and rhythm after a below-par few weeks as they saw off Benetton in Llanelli on Saturday.
And the West Wales region’s head coach insists his players must build on their momentum in the coming weeks as the battle for places in Europe’s premier club competition intensifies.
“If we hadn’t got today right then it becomes really difficult,” he said.
“The games come thick and fast, starting at Edinburgh on Saturday and we will go there full of optimism.
“Our set-piece is going to have to be strong again, they are a very good set-piece team.
“It is going to be tight at the back end of the competition.
“Hopefully we get more of what we saw today.”
A dominant first half from the Scarlets set them on their way to a crucial bonus point victory over Benetton at Parc y Scarlets.
After three straight defeats, victory was crucial for Delaney’s men.
A brace from the superlative Jac Morgan, as well as scores from Sam Costelow, Dane Blacker, Sione Kalamafoni and Paul Asquith set them up for a comfortable victory over an ill-disciplined Benetton.
It was a first half of seemingly endless pressure from the hosts.
Benetton may have opened the scoring with a Tomasso Allan penalty, but the rest of the half saw the Scarlets camped in the away side’s 22.
Having not lost four league matches in a row since 2016, the Scarlets set about putting things right after eight minutes when Morgan hammered his way through a couple of tackle attempts to get the hosts on the scoreboard.