Scarlets will be looking to turn the tide of fortune at Rodney Parade this weekend and hoping Connacht can do them a favour to keep alive their hopes of making the semi-finals of the Guinness PRO14.
It is 11 months since the tournament kicked-off and with only the top two teams in each Conference now going through to the knock-out phase it is the Scarlets who still have something to play for on the final weekend.
As it stands, Glenn Delaney’s men are four points behind Munster in Conference B ahead of their game at Rodney Parade on Saturday (kick-off 5.15pm).
In order to sneak into the semi-finals they will have to pick up a full five points against the Dragons on Saturday and hope Munster get nothing from their final fixture.
Leinster, Ulster and Edinburgh are already booked into the semi-finals, with either Munster or Scarlets set to join them.
If the Scarlets were to make it they would face a trip to Dublin to face reigning champions Leinster in a repeat of the 2018 final.
They will at least get the chance to turn the heat up on Munster by going to Rodney Parade and winning for the first time since 2011. Connacht and Munster meet on Sunday.
“It is a massive game, it is going to be a tough one,” said Delaney.
“We had a real battle against them last December and they got one over us.
“Rodney Parade is a hard place to play against a really good team that has been rebuilt by Dean (Ryan). They have got some big names in there and some new players.”
You have to go back to 30 December, 2011 for the last time the Scarlets won a competitive match at Rodney Parade. In that time they have lost four times and are facing a double this season having been beaten 22-20 in Newport on 21 December.
That was a red letter day for Dragons outside half Sam Davies, who won the game with a last gasp drop goal to take his match tally to 18 points against a Scarlets side boasting 12 internationals in their starting line-up.
Having also lowered the Scarlets colours in a pre-season friendly, 34-17, at Rodney Parade, the Dragons will be full of confidence. They earned a 20-20 draw against the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium last weekend.
They also won the Judgement Day clash at Principality Stadium last season and will gunning for their first run of three successive wins over the Scarlets in the tournament.
Both sides will be hoping to build momentum towards their European Challenge Cup quarter-final away matches next month – the Scarlets against Toulon and Dragons against Bristol Bears.
Wings on both sides, Dragons star Ashton Hewitt and Scarlets international Steff Evans, both grabbed two tries last weekend. For Evans, who has eight league tries, the race is on to catch the current leading try scorer in the Guinness PRO14, the Cheetahs’ Rhyno Smith (10).
Rodney Parade is a hard place to play against a really good team that has been rebuilt by Dean... They have got some big names in there and some new players...
