Interim Director of Rugby Nigel Davies admitted to mixed feelings in the wake of Friday night’s dramatic 20-20 draw with Benetton at a foggy Stadio Monigo.
In challenging conditions, the Scarlets battled back from 13-3 down at half-time and could have snatched the win in the closing minutes following a late try from Macs Page.
“At the end of the day we are very disappointed we didn’t come away with the win,” said Davies afterwards.
“I thought In the second half, in particular, we put a huge shift in and scored some nice tries. There were a lot of youngsters out there and that was a huge step up for them – they were admirable in the way they went about their business.
“We haven’t won that game because of the basic errors we made and the boys will learn from that, particularly the younger players.
“It is a difficult place to come; Benetton are a quality team, they are physical, with a strong squad, but it was frustrating not to get the W because I felt we were a good enough team to do that – but, as I said, basic errors and poor decision-making at times let us down.”
Davies added: “We will learn from that, but it is no mean feat to come out here and get a draw, particularly with all the changes we made. I am really delighted with the way the boys are taking the opportunities presented to them and also the way we want them to play the game. I thought our intensity without the ball was fantastic.
“I also thought in that second half when we had opportunities we executed very well for the tries.
“That is what we need to build on and eliminate the errors which allowed them to come back into the game. At the moment we are not putting the performances that we want on the park because of our own unforced errors. We have got to get better at that and we have a big block of training ahead of us now where we’ll focus on some of the basic stuff.
“Regardless of the structures you want to play, if your basics aren’t good enough you won’t see that.”
Scarlets return to URC action at the end of the month when they travel north to take on Edinburgh on Friday, February 27.