Dwayne Peel admitted his side will reflect on another Investec Champions Cup contest that got away following Saturday night’s 47-38 loss to Section Paloise at Parc y Scarlets.
Scarlets fought back from an early Pau assault to turn a 19-3 deficit into a 38-26 lead midway through the second half, but the French side finished the stronger, taking their chances to clinch a crucial victory.
“I am obviously disappointed, because when we look back I am sure we will be kicking ourselves at certain parts of the game,” said Peel.
“The start is an obvious one. I felt we were a bit nervous to start, we left a few points slip and to be fair they finished their tries brilliantly. After that, I was proud of the effort to stay in the fight and to go in at half-time just two points down showed a lot of courage and determination to get back into the game against a quality side.
“I thought our set-piece was functioning well, our maul went well and the forwards were giving us a good platform.
“We controlled a lot of that first 20-odd minutes of the second half, but at his level it is a game of moments. We dropped the ball over the line to go back into the lead, then there was a drop out, they get a scrum penalty and then they are on our line and score from it. That is the game, that is what you are up against at this level.
“We have played three quality teams in this competition and we have shown we can compete in it. Maybe the bounce of the ball may go our way or we might get a TMO decision that goes our way and that will change things, but until then we will keep working hard and moving forward.
“As I said, the result is disappointing, but I felt there were elements of our game that were more positive than the last two matches (against Ospreys and Dragons).”
The result leaves the Scarlets in fifth place in the Pool 4 table with a superior points difference (-39) to the sixth place Bulls (-70).
Scarlets head to Northampton Saints on Sunday, while the Bulls travel to Pau.
If the Scarlets finish the pool stages in fifth, they will drop to the EPCR Challenge Cup and face an away tie in April
Peel added: “We have to move on and we still have something to chase.
“The Bulls have to travel to Pau and we go to Franklin’s Gardens on Sunday which is a brilliant place to play rugby. Saints are playing really good rugby, have a team full of quality so it is a big challenge, we have a big week ahead.”