Old foes reunited as Scarlets star Peel ready to meet World Cup rival Rauluni

Nov 30 2007 by Phil Blanche, Western Mail

DWAYNE PEEL comes face to face with World Cup nemesis Mosese Rauluni tomorrow – but insists the only thing on his mind is an EDF Energy Cup semi-final spot for the Scarlets.

The last time Peel and Rauluni met was to exchange jerseys in the aftermath of Fiji’s shock victory in Nantes that sent Wales crashing out of the World Cup two months ago.

But Peel (above) insists personal revenge is not on the menu as the Scarlets aim to serve up a Stradey Park revival against Saracens.

“If he (Rauluni) wants to bring up the World Cup then that’s not a problem,” he said.

“But for me and the Scarlets it’s about what happens next, not what happened in the past.

“It’s always good to play against top-class players, but there’s no point looking back.

“We know we have to win this game, it’s like a quarter-final because there’s a place in the last four up for grabs. But it’s also important for the bigger picture of the Scarlets.

“We have looked hard at where we’ve gone wrong over the last few weeks and I honestly believe there are no major flaws in our game.”

Peel’s says the Scarlets’ slump is just the result of a bad patch and he insists the ailing region still have plenty to play for this term.

“We have got a massive month of rugby ahead that could decide our season,” said Peel, with the Scarlets’ EDF and Heineken Cup hopes hanging by a thread.

“We still have four games left in Europe, we’re second in the Magners League and we have a shot at a semi-final of the EDF Energy Cup.

“It’s too simplistic to compare things to last year. The game always moves on and we are trying to evolve our game.”