The West Walians currently sit in seventh after pulling off a surprise 32-22 victory in Llanelli a fortnight ago to inflict only a second loss of the season to runaway leaders Leinster.
Scarlets now face a trip to the Southern Hemisphere for the final two fixtures of the league format against first the Lions on Sunday and then the Sharks next weekend with their URC destiny in their own hands.
Having not won in South Africa since the four Springbok nations joined the URC four years ago, Peel is well aware of the challenge that faces his young side in the next fortnight but backs his players to take the confidence gained from shocking Leinster to solidify a place in the knockout stage.
“It was a big boost from our perspective, I think over the last couple of weeks we’ve prepared well for the last few games”, said Peel in his pre-match conference.
“The Leinster game was a massive game for us with the quality they have in their squad and the performance was justified by the preparation and the boys were ready for that game.
“It is a big challenge ahead, a massive game on Sunday in Johannesburg, but we are in a good spot and looking forward to getting into it.
“We have spoken about competing as a squad this season and we are in the play-offs with two rounds to go.
“It is not just about staying there though, we want to push up the league, not just about survival. It’s a massive challenge, but our destiny is in our hands, and we will approach it that way.
“The Lions are a team who want to play expansive rugby, want to throw the ball around, we need to match that, we to control that, it is going to be an awesome challenge, but we are approaching it with positivity.
“We haven’t won in South Africa since the four main franchises [Bulls, Stormers, Sharks and Lions] were introduced, so to get through [to the play-offs] we are going to have to create another bit of history.”
Scarlets have made just the one change, bringing in Springbok Marnus van der Merwe in to play in his homeland for Ryan Elias in the front row, whilst Kemsley Mathias returns to the bench after a long spell out with a calf injury.
“Kemsley Mathias is back in the group and that’s good for our perspective. It’s been frustrating since the Six Nations for him.
“We have a fairly healthy squad, and everyone is pushing themselves on and vying for that starting spot.
“There is a lot at stake, we weren’t in this position last year; sometimes the season fizzles out at this stage, but we are right in there, that in itself raises the intensity among the group.
“There was disappointment after Ulster and Stormers when we lost two tight games, but we have been able to build momentum from the Ospreys home game and the Leinster win was a real shot in the arm for a lot of players.
“You can look at all the permutations and a lot of teams around us are playing each other. For us, it is just important we keep picking up points because sides are going to be taking points off each other.
“We do have the benefit of playing on Sunday after everyone has played, but we appreciate how tough a place it is to go and win.”
Scarlets XV to play Emirates Lions:
Blair Murray, Tom Rogers, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Ellis Mee, Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies
Alec Hepburn, Marnus van der Merwe, Henry Thomas, Alex Craig, Sam Lousi, Vaea Fifita, Josh Macleod (captain), Taine Plumtree.
Replacements:
Ryan Elias, Kemsley Mathias, Sam Wainwright, Dan Davis, Jarrod Taylor, Archie Hughes, Ioan Lloyd, Macs Page.
[Lead image: Scarlets Rugby]
