Pivac Looks Ahead To Biggest Game At Parc Y Scarlets

In what is the biggest week in the brief history of Parc y Scarlets, Wayne Pivac and his men have one focus….they are 80 minutes away from being one of the top four teams in Europe.
Behind the scenes, the stadium is a hive of activity with the temporory seating added along with a hospitality marquee, with the sense of anticipation already in the air.
The good news on the pitch is that apart from the long-term injuries to Jonathan Davies, Jake Ball, Wyn Jones, Johnny McNicholl and Tom Prydie, Pivac has a full squad at his disposal, confirming that those rested against Munster last weekend are ‘in great shape.’
There was also more good news with the announcement that Centre, Hadleigh Parkes has signed an extension to his contract. Described by his coach as ‘the glue of the team,’ Wayne Pivac added that he was very happy with the news that Parkes had put pen to paper.
Parkes made his debut for the region in December 2014 and has thus far made 93 appearances for the Scarlets including an historic 2015-16 season where he played every minute of every game in both the Pro12 and the Champions Cup.
Hadleigh commented “I’m really pleased to have signed a contract for the next few years. I’m really enjoying my rugby and get to come to work with a great bunch of boys and a good management team.”
Friday night’s opposition La Rochelle last visited Llanelli way back in 1970! They are a mix of New Zealand and French Internationals, they’re big men with Prop, Rob Evans relishing the prospect of scrumming down against the man mountain, Uini Atonio who weighs in at over 24 stones. “They’re big old boys,” he joked. “There’s some weight in that pack but I know what’s coming and I’m looking forward to it.”
“Atonio is a heavy man and they’re a big pack anyway. But we’ve played against big packs like Toulon and I don’t think there’s anything for us to worry about,” he added.
“They’ve got some quality there with ex All Blacks, across the board they’ve got a lot of big men,” Pivac agreed. “They move a lot of ball and in terms of stats in the competition, they kick the ball the least, so we’ve had a look at that and put some plans in place accordingly.”
He added, “We have to bring a very good game on Friday night not only in attack but also in defence.”
With last weekend’s loss against Munster firmly behind them, the squad have been hard at work stamping out the errors, particularly in the scrum.
Pivac continued, “This is a one-off game, it’s a quarter final. It’s about putting yourself in a position to play for silverware. As a coach, when you lose you take it pretty tough and you look at your own performance and the preparation that went into that particular game and what you’d do differently.”
“It was really strange coming in yesterday,” he revealed. “I know I had a spring in my step because we’ve worked for over three years to get to this stage. Now it’s about the excitement of the challenge ahead. We’ve worked for a long period of time to get where we are. We just want to make sure that we enjoy the week and go out on to the field as we did in the play-offs last year and enjoy ourselves over the 80 minutes.”
It has taken Pivac over three years to steer the club into the position it now finds itself, performing on the biggest stage in club rugby. Openly admitting that the initial focus was on the then Pro12, it has been a building process on the resources available.
“When you come into an organisation during the first and second year you’ve got players on your books who you haven’t head hunted or contracted yourself, you’ve inherited them,” he continued. “That was a three-year process and the third year we won the Pro12 and we’re building the depth to be able to compete in both competitions.”
“The team is hungry – we are looking at this game and saying we are 80 minutes away from the top four of the top competition in Europe which would be for this team and the budget we run off an amazing achievement,” he added. “And then you are 80 minutes away from the big show so there’s a lot to play for and get excited about. We’ve worked had to get here and we really want to express ourselves and take our opportunity on Friday night.”
It is without doubt the biggest game since Pivac took the helm, even bigger than winning the Pro12 last season as it is the elite tournament and offers a different challenge for both the coaches and the players.
The Scarlets’ ticket allocation was sold out within 45 minutes and with several securing tickets directly from La Rochelle, it is anticipated that around 98% of the supporters will be supporting the Scarlets so the atmosphere will be bigger and better than against even the Ospreys or Toulon!
The one thing out of the Scarlets’ control is of course the weather. Currently showers are forecast, but obviously nothing is guaranteed. “We learnt a lot from the game against Bath when we went off-script and tried to play our dry-weather footie in the wet and we paid the price,” confirmed Pivac. “We have learnt a lot from that, we just have to make sure we get our game management right if the conditions are wet.”
With a history as rich as that of Llanelli RFC and now, the Scarlets, it is something that some of the local players have been brought up on with Rob Evans recalling several momentous performances in Stradey Park, “I love thinking back to when I was a kid, me and my Dad used to come up. I remember the Perpignan game, the Scarlets playing Toulouse when Gareth Thomas was playing for them. That’s why it’s so special to us boys.”
His captain, Ken Owens, agreed “You can feel the momentum building and for me being involved way back when, it’s nice to be back up there.”
One thing about this squad that is apparent is that despite the world-class environment that Pivac has created, they really are a team and work for each other. They understand that no-one is bigger than the team and that you can’t just turn up and expect to play – it’s all down to the hard work that goes in. Importantly, it’s about learning and adapting to continue the success of last season.
Despite respecting the history of Llanelli RFC, this is a squad that wants to continue creating their own history.