SCARLETS: ‘One of our best performances so far’: Davies hails Scarlets defence, but Costelow, Elias and Macleod injuries cloud South Africa trip

Nigel Davies says the Scarlets’ defence against Newcastle was one of their best performances of the season, as they prepare for a double-header in South Africa.

The 47-14 bonus-point win at Parc y Scarlets made it two wins in a row, but three Wales internationals were forced off injured.

“We know what we can do with the ball, we know we have the ability to score tries, but I was really pleased with our work off the ball tonight. Defensively it was one of our best performances so far,” Davies said.

‘It takes a long time to build a successful side’

“It takes a long time to build a successful side, and that was a step forward,” he said.

“It was as good as we could have expected, but it’s just the start in this competition.”

“We know we still have a lot of work to do, but that performance will stand us in good stead going to South Africa.”

Taine Plumtree back as depth returns

Davies says the squad is getting stronger as injured forwards come back. “We started the season with six or seven quality forwards not available to us; they are starting to come back, and it’s about adding real depth and competition to the squad.”

Taine Plumtree came off the bench on his return from a shoulder problem.

“You saw that with Taine, his first action was to take that kick-off, that is the type of quality you want,” Davies said.

Josh Macleod’s turnovers ‘big moments’

Davies singled out captain Josh Macleod. “Josh had a fantastic game. Those turnovers were big moments in the game,” he said.

“Within all the planning and structure, you still need to come out on the right side of those big moments in games, and we did tonight.”

Costelow, Elias and Macleod forced off

The win came at a cost. Fly-half Sam Costelow, hooker Ryan Elias and Macleod, all Wales internationals, went off injured.

Costelow, who scored the opening try, went off after 36 minutes with what appeared to be a hamstring problem. Davies described his exit as a “precaution”.

Replacement hooker Elias went off for a head injury assessment around 14 minutes into the second half.

Macleod was forced off three minutes from the end, leaving the Scarlets with 14 men for the closing minutes.

Stormers in Cape Town next for the Scarlets

There is no update yet on any of the three. We’ll bring you the latest from the Scarlets’ pre-match press conference before they face the DHL Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday, 24 October (4pm).

The Scarlets then travel to Pretoria to face the Bulls on 31 October.