Davies confident in his Scarlets

Jan 12 2008 by Blair Wood, Western Mail

DESPITE a hoard of injuries, Scarlets coach Phil Davies is confident his team still has what it takes to get something out of their daunting clash with Wasps.

Davies (pictured right) will be without 10 first XV players tomorrow when he takes the region to Adams Park to face the European champions.

But, even though the Londoners easily won the two teams’ previous tie at Stradey Park in November, he doesn’t think the Scarlets are facing a mission impossible.

“They have been the best side we played against this season,” he conceded. “They played very well down here and they were the most effective team we have come up against, particularly with ball in hand.

“But we just need to use the ball effectively and make sure we are well organised in defence. If we can do that, we will always be competing at this level.

“We have 21 internationals in our squad and we prepare as best we can to win every game. The reality is that you don’t, but we are looking to be as consistent as possible.”

If the Scarlets do lose tomorrow, it will leave them just one defeat away from a Heineken Cup whitewash. They are already out of the competition so there is only pride left to play for.

It’s a disappointing situation for last year’s semi-finalists to find themselves in. They haven’t been helped by an extremely difficult draw, but the simple fact is they haven’t been as clinical this season as they were last time round.

A win this weekend or next will be a case of too little, too late. But Davies is adamant it could be vitally important in the grand scheme of things.

“We are hungry for four or five points,” he said. “We haven’t competed as well as we would have liked in this competition so there’s still a lot at stake for us.

“We want to get our campaign off the mark. It’s important that we keep building in this competition and every game is vital.

“We want to win this competition one day. Every game contributes towards that goal. even if, as is the case, it’s not going to be this year.”

The Scarlets inability to close out games extended into their Magners League form over the festive period. An impressive win over the Ospreys was outweighed by two poor defeats as they succumbed to both the Dragons and Connacht in quick succession.

But Davies is confident his players have the right mentality to bounce back tomorrow.