Scarlets running out of rope

Guy Easterby knows his little brother pretty well.

Last Monday the Leinster team manager chuckled when asked if he had spoken to Simon since his Scarlets side went down 49-16 to Clermont Auvergne in the first round of the Heineken Cup. As if. As soon as he heard about Morgan Stoddart’s sending-off at the Stade Marcel Michelin, Guy knew to give it a few days before ringing.

Sure enough, it was the following morning – three days after the game in France — before the brothers hooked up. The Scarlets coach was on media duties later that day and, by then, any lingering frustration or anger had been siphoned from the system as attention turned squarely towards yet another big ask.

“We have got to take the positives out of the Clermont match and understand that, at 13-16 half-time, we were well in the game before they capitalised on [Morgan Stoddart’s red card],” said the English-born, Welsh-based former Irish international.

“We looked at the reasons why we lost the match so we are not down at all. What’s great about this competition is that we are playing the reigning European champions the week after Clermont and it has heightened everyone’s awareness and positivity going into this game.

“We can’t afford to lose our first two games. If we win, I can well see Exeter coming up with a bit of a surprise down in Sandy Park. I don’t think Clermont will be looking forward to going down there so it could be all a level playing field after round two.”

That’s the best-case scenario. The worst is they lose to Leinster at home today like they did in the pool stages three years ago.

That would make for a crushing blow after what had been a decent start to the season under the rookie stewardship of Easterby but it would be a familiar story for a team and a set of supporters who have grown accustomed to seeing their undoubted potential fall short when it has mattered most.

It is five years since the club reached the semi-finals of this tournament for the third and, to date, last time. Since then, they have failed to escape the clutches of the claustrophobic pool stages and last year’s was as painful as any given they won their opening pair of fixtures and still couldn’t finish the job.

“Everyone had been talking about us the last few years as a young, developing team and I think we have passed that now,” said Scott Williams, the club’s Welsh centre.

“We definitely have to start winning some silverware and put a mark down. We win a couple of games and then we tend to let a few slip away from us. This is our season now to try and step it up.”

It would be some feat, from a pool as difficult as this and after the start they endured seven days ago. Leinster may be chugging rather than rolling along right now but they invariably get better as the season progresses and Easterby’s family ties should mean he knows better than most what sort of a task awaits his lads today.

“Joe Schmidt has had a big influence and the players they won it with under Michael Cheika have continued to set the standard.

“They can play open running rugby where their passing and their accuracy with ball in hand is second to none and then they are also able to mix it up front.

“They can play in different conditions which is something you need to do because it is played over such a long period. It is played over winter and you have to deal with all the elements that come with that. They have taken their opportunities and won the competition three times now and they set the standard for all of us.”

It’s now or never for Scarlets to match it.