Skipper Josh Macleod has admitted there has been honest conversations amongst the players as they prepare to take on one of the form teams in France in the Investec Champions Cup on Saturday.
Section Paloise are flying in second spot in the Top14 with only European giants Toulouse above them, but Macleod insists his players will be fired up and ready for the challenge at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday night (20:00 ko).
“As a team, we’ve had some pretty honest conversations; we felt as though in the previous games from Glasgow, into the Champions Cup and then Cardiff we were building something nice and as players we probably let ourselves down, (against Ospreys and Dragons),” said the Wales international.
“There were technical, tactical aspects that weren’t good enough but physically we probably weren’t there. What better opportunity to turn things around with a team who are second in the French Top 14 coming to our home ground.
“We often speak of being one team down here – coaches, staff, players – and as players we have taken a lot of accountability. A lot of the errors, discipline, everything happens on the field and we have to take that on the chin and take our learnings.
“Training has been very good this week. I know I say that quite often there, but there has been a bit of bite, especially in the guys who aren’t selected; they have prepared the team as well as possible and there has been a decent reaction from the 23 who will take the field on Saturday as well.”
So what kind of challenge is Macleod expecting from the visitors on Saturday night?
“Big, physical, confrontational – they have a star studded team,” he added.
“You don’t get into second in the Top 14 without a lot of depth. Whatever squad they bring here, it is going to be a serious challenge and one we are really looking forward to, really looking forward to.
“These high-pressure games, it is why you play the sport isn’t it? We have spoken as a team about expectation and what a result on Saturday will give us – hopefully knockout rugby of some form.
“But we will take it week by week. We have a massive game and we will do our very best to put our best foot forward and come away hopefully with a win. The win is the priority and then we can look forward to one of the top sides in England (Northampton Saints) next week.”
Macleod added: “It is certainly not hard from my perspective to get the boys up for occasions like this. Yes, we do have inexperience in the team, boys who haven’t played in games like this before. I remember my first few European nights, there is nothing I can say to get people up for it, it comes naturally and hopefully it is a similar story on Saturday.
“If you look at our games in the opening two rounds, the Bristol game was really tight and in patches I felt we competed away at the champions (Bordeaux). Throughout this competition we have positives to take and, as I said, hopefully there will be some more to come out of Saturday’s game.”