Director of Rugby Nigel Davies said he was happy with the physicality shown by the team in the final pre-season clash before the URC season kicks off against Cardiff next weekend.
Scarlets went down to a 26-14 loss to a powerful, fully-loaded Saracens side on a wet night at Parc y Scarlets, but Davies insisted there was plenty of positives to take from a bruising contest.
“I thought we brought a real intensity,” he said, speaking to the media post-match. “Saracens are one of the toughest teams to play against physically in the UK, they bully sides and our boys stood up to it. I was really happy with the physical intent and that was one of the main themes going into this game, we wanted to match them in that area.
“I thought our scrum took another step forward, it has been good in the pre-season, we have put a lot of work into it; conditions weren’t great but we can start to see how dangerous we look when we get half chances and build the attacking game we are looking to do; large parts of our defence were good, but a couple of other areas weren’t so good, we will take a lot out of that game.”
Davies added: “There were lots of young players out there again. I thought Osian Williams, a young Welsh back-rower who has really stepped up in pre-season, was fantastic; Will Evans as well, what an experience for two youngsters playing against quality opposition and they came through really strong. You have to remember we still have the likes of Taine, Fletch, Cullen Grace and a few others forwards to come into that pack to elevate it again.
“We want to give opportunities and create depth. That was part of the rationale of these pre-season games so we can go into the season with real competition for places.”
Asked if he has been pleased overall with the three pre-season matches, Davies said: “Generally, yes. You have to be very careful with pre-season games, they are not always a great marker in terms of how your season goes. We split it up into six halves and out of those, probably four of those halves have been where we want to be.
“Going into next week, we have to make sure both halves are where we want them to be!”
Davies said he was hopeful that No. 8 Fletcher Anderson, who hasn’t featured in pre-season because of injury, would be fit for next Saturday’s game against Cardiff.
Tickets for the Welsh derby are available HERE or from the Scarlets ticket office on 01554 292939