With a semi final spot in the LV= Cup campaign already out of the Scarlets’ hands before they set foot at the Madejski Stadium the Welsh region headed the Aviva Premiership club looking for a good performance and victory to build momentum into what is a crucial period in the league.
The RaboDirect PRO12 makes a return next weekend after a break for Cup competition, in both Heineken and LV=, and the Scarlets had hoped to build on the victory against Gloucester and follow up with a big performance against a strong London Irish side to gather pace before heading to Treviso next Saturday.
A strong first half by the homeside saw the Scarlets head into the dressing rooms 4 tries to nil at the break.
Scarlets Head Coach Simon Easterby said: “We were disappointed that we weren’t playing for something here today, in terms of qualification for the semi final. We probably had a first half to forget in terms of giving them a little too much possession in the wrong areas for us and they took full advantage of that.”
The Scarlets gave a much better performance in the second half and played with determination showing pride in every phase of play, securing a consolation try through the hands of replacement second row George Earle.
Easterby went on to say: “We played a little better in the second half, we played more of our game and got into our patterns. I was pleased with our second half performance overall.”
With Scarlets now out of both Cup competitions their focus returns to the RaboDirect PRO12 and securing the all important top four spot come the end of the season.
Currently lying in 7th position, 14 points adrift of the coveted fourth spot, the Scarlets are fully aware of the task ahead but Easterby is confident that his side can put in the performances needed, he added: “The top four is still well within our grasp. We’ve made it difficult on ourselves but we have to be confident that in the next four games, even with the amount of players unavailable to us, that we should be pushing for that top four spot.
“We have to take the positives from the second half performance against a strong Irish side to take into Treviso next week.”
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