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Scarlets boss feeling the pressure

Monday 13th October 2008

Stradey nightmare: Scarlets let a healthy lead slip away

Scarlets coach Nigel Davies knows there will be a huge amount of pressure on his side when they head to Paris on Saturday for a Heineken Cup showdown with Stade Français.

Having lost their opening game, at home, against Harlequins on Saturday the Scarlets simply must win in Paris if they are to harbour any serious ambitions of making it out of Pool Four.

"There will be pressure, we'll be expecting to go out there and get results," he told BBC Sport Wales after the opening 22-29 defeat to Harlequins.

"We've got a game that can bring results against anybody, what we have to do is put it into practice."

Saturday's defeat now means the Scarlets have lost eight Heineken Cup games in a row, and with a few injuries, will face a stern test to end that run.

"We have a few bangs and knocks and a few of the guys have severe cramp, we'll know in the week where we are selection-wise," said Davies, who lost Dafydd James to a last-minute injury before the Quins defeat.

What will concern Davies the most is the nature of the defeat, having lead 19-3 at half-time. The second half saw the home side crumble and let Harlequins back into the game, and Davies knows at this level you must play for eighty minutes.

Fly-half Stephen Jones, who was at the heart of the Scarlets' first-half display was critical of his side's inability to finish the game off.

"The first half was very, very good, we recycled well and played with a lot of tempo," Jones told BBC Sport Wales.

"We created a lot of opportunities, but only converted two.

"Harlequins changed their game plan in the second half, they were very strong in the contact area and we had no go-forward.

"If you don't play for 80 minutes at this level you're not going to be successful.

"We just have to keep working hard and win everything if we are going to progress.

"Stade Français are undefeated in the French league this year, they're flying high and have a good squad.

"It's a big challenge, but we've got to play like in that first 40 minutes against Quins."