Dwayne Peel believes his side are ‘in a good spot’ before they start their BKT United Rugby Championship campaign after shaking off the cobwebs in their pre-season clash with Dragons on Saturday.
Scarlets kick off their league season against Munster at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday, September 27, determined to build on their impressive finish to 2024-25 when they pushed eventual champions Leinster all the way in the quarter-finals in Dublin.
Scarlets went down to a 33-28 loss at Rodney Parade on Saturday, but Peel insists his players will be better for the run out as all focus now turns to the arrival of the Irish province.
He said: “It’s been a productive pre-season and I feel we are in a good spot. The boys have worked really hard like they always do,
“(On Saturday) it looked like we had a lot of cobwebs in our system; it was a scrappy game, we were guilty of coughing up possession, we gifted the Dragons a couple of soft tries and there is set piece work we need to tidy up.
“It looked like some of the guys hadn’t played in a long time. Some of our returning internationals have been in three or four weeks now, so for those guys to get a hit out was important in readiness for Munster.
“We have to improve our standards, undoubtedly, but I don’t mind that because it gives you a real focus, if things go smoothly you maybe take your foot off the gas.
“We have a game out of the way and we will be ready for some league rugby in two weeks which is huge.”
Asked about what the side can achieve this season, Peel added: “We haven’t made too many changes to the squad, it is about getting back on the horse. We finished last season really well and it is about trying to reignite that momentum.
“It is going to be a tough first block – Munster, Connacht and then three games against South African sides. It is a really exciting challenge ahead of us.
“We want to push on. If you look back at last season, we were unlucky not to get over the line in a number of games, last-gasp losses which would have put us further up the league table. We want to compete and be in those play-offs again, that is the ultimate goal and we have the squad with the appetite for that. We will look to iron out some of the bad patches from the Dragons game and move on.”
The Munster clash promises to be a huge occasion in Llanelli with a bumper crowd expected at Parc y Scarlets.
Peel added: “There is nothing like the first game of the season with good opposition coming as well. We had good momentum at the end of last season and the crowd definitely helped us when you look back at the Leinster and Ospreys games in particular. A big crowd will be massive for us.”
You can get your ticket for Scarlets v Munster at Parc y Scarlets HERE