Scarlets head coach Nigel Davies has described Friday’s trip to Belfast as a Cup Final.
Davies takes his men to Ravenhill to face an Ulster side five points ahead of them in the Magners League table.
And with the Scarlets currently sitting in sixth place with just four games remaining, Davies knows this weekend’s battle will have a major bearing on whether his side secure a semi-final spot.
“Friday is like a Cup Final for us,” said Davies, after the Scarlets beat Benetton Treviso 22-16 on Sunday.
“There is a lot to work on and we will be hard on ourselves after that performance- but that’s not a bad position for us to be in as we’ve got to get our heads down and focus.
“We knew we had to win this game and our next one in Ulster and, in that sense, there’s a first tick in the box.
“We are still in the battle and that is what matters.”
Sunday’s victory over the Magners League debutants at the Parc-y-Scarlets made up for an opening day loss to the same opposition on Italian soil but Davies admits improvements will have to be made if Ulster are to be toppled.
The Northern Irish province have now won five matches on the bounce, with the first of those coming against the Scarlets in West Wales on February 18, while the Scarlets themselves head to Belfast having lost three of their last five fixtures.
And while any win is important at this stage of the season, the Scarlets failed to hit top gear against Treviso.
“We spoke about the turnover rate at half time,” added Davies.
“There was just too much inaccuracy in our game, too many 50/50 balls and we warned about that danger going into this game.
“We fell into the trap. We just didn’t build the game we had spoken about.
“We went through nine phases to get that early try in the second half – but in the main we just weren’t going through the phases and we were too inaccurate.
“We’re frustrated and disappointed with that performance. We had a lot of boys who’d just come back to us and maybe that had a bearing.
“However the most important thing was that we got the result.”
