Scarlets coach sends warning to Bulls
REACTION: Scarlets Head of Rugby Dwanye Peel reflected on his team’s heroic performance against the Stormers in Round Four of the United Rugby Championship at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
The Scarlets were in the match up until the 72nd minute with the scores tied at 40-40 before a brace by Yaqeen Ahmed sealed the deal for the Stormers.
*Also read: Hooker ‘crisis’ as Stormers count cost of Scarlets victory
Their next mission doesn’t get any easier when they travel to Pretoria to face the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld, but Peel is pleased with the growth and fight his team showed in Cape Town and believes the Scarlets have “turned the corner”.
“One of the things we are trying to do which we weren’t able to do last season is playing at a higher level and higher intensity so we can compete longer and against the top teams,” Peel said.
“I firmly believe we turned the corner in that regard; there’s a belief within the squad that they can do that.
“They’ve gotten there a few times in the earlier games that we’ve had. We know the physical markers are way above where it’s been previously.
“Just the belief and confidence in the group is growing.”
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Peel revealed his half-time message to his team after trailing 14-33 at the break and hailed their second-half fight.
“We spoke about it [fronting up]; one can’t come here and admire how the Stormers play. We had to come here and challenge them and dare to be great.
“That was the message really; we’ve got to pitch up and go after the Stormers, with or without the ball, and I felt we did that for long periods.
“Even at half-time when we were a little bit under the pump, we still spoke about going after half-chances and using those opportunities, and the guys came out and played some great rugby in the second half.”
Scarlets struggled in the scrums for the majority of the match but held their own in large chunks of the contest, something they’ll need more of against the Bulls, but Peel said his side will build on their performance in Cape Town to finish their mini tour of South Africa on a high.
“The one thing you’re going to get from South African teams [is physicality]; the boys spoke about it all week, and I felt we did that for large parts of the match.
“We felt that if we could physically match that intensity, we knew we had enough rugby in us to cause some problems.
“Those two elements came together, and I’m extremely proud of what we were able to produce today [Saturday], albeit being disappointed in the fact that I feel there was more in it for us.
“We go in positively to the next challenge [Bulls], which is not going to be easy.”
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