Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel admitted the period when his side were down to 13 men proved critical to the outcome of Saturday’s BKT United Rugby Championship clash with Ulster.
After leading 6-3 at the interval, Scarlets conceded two quick tries following the sin-binnings of Taine Plumtree and Gareth Davies and with the Irish side in control, the visitors added a third try shortly after.
Peel said: “We started the game really well, got a bit of momentum and probably left some points out there in that first quarter. We gave them some cheap penalties which then allowed them a bit of momentum and when you are down to 13 men it is always going to be difficult.
“That period really hurt us, Ulster took their points when they were on offer, we weren’t as accurate as we could have been. We managed to claw our way back in the game, fought hard and if we had executed that line-out in the 75th minute, who knows?”
Paying tribute to the players who received a presentation on the pitch after the final whistle, Peel added: “It is always a special and sad moment. What we have this year is some giants of the club, some giants of the shirt leaving the club and they will be sorely missed. But they can be very proud of what they achieved in the shirt, they have left the shirt in a good place and we can always be grateful for what they have given us as supporters.”
Next up is Zebre in Parma on Friday night.
Peel added: “It is a short turnaround, it is about getting the bodies back right and hopefully we have a few returning players. We still have a couple of games to go in the season and we will make sure come Tuesday when we are back in we are ready to go.”