No red mist for Scarlets over Aviva

SCARLETS have shrugged off the controversial choice of Aviva Stadium to host Saturday’s Champions Cup semi-final against Leinster.

Tournament organisers have maximised Leinster’s home advantage by staging the tie at a ground where they have already played three times this season and which is only half a mile from their Dublin base.

Racing 92’s semifinal against Munster is being played in Bordeaux, 350 miles from Paris. But Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac, who piloted the Welsh region to victory over the Irish province at the RDS in last season’s Pro14 semifinal, is unfazed.

“We have worked really hard to get to the semi-final and, to be quite honest, wherever we played it, it was never going to bother us. That is for other people to decide, what is neutral and what is not,” said Pivac.

“It is a magnificent stadium – in terms of your preparation, changing rooms and everything is international standard.

“There will be plenty of support for the locals, I am sure. They won’t have too far to travel, but one Scarlets supporter probably makes up for 10 of the opposition. Hopefully, there will be something like 5,000 Scarlets fans there by the sounds of it, which is a great number of travelling supporters. I don’t know if it will be the cauldron that some people think.”

Leinster have actually lost three of the four European semi-finals they have played in what was formerly Lansdowne Road, but they are the only unbeaten side remaining in the Champions Cup and will have Ireland talisman Johnny Sexton calling the shots.

Asked how the Scarlets might stop Sexton, Pivac joked: “Hopefully he gets the flu or something between now and then.”

But the coach did urge his players not to take their eyes off other threats by concentrating too much on one man.

“Sexton is such an influential player,” said Pivac. “I guess it is no secret that all teams will try and put some pressure on the out-half and bring some line-speed to put him off his game.

“But as good as he is he is only one player and I believe if you focus on one player it can free up space for others such as Gary Ringrose and James Lowe.

“We can’t afford to fall into that trap.”