SCARLETS: ‘I thought, yeah, he’s going to nail this’: Davies on Costelow’s Benetton winner

Nigel Davies says he knew Sam Costelow would land his late winner against Benetton from the look on his face.

Costelow kicked a 78th-minute penalty from 45 metres as the Scarlets came from 21-7 down to win 27-26 at Parc y Scarlets.

Davies said: “It was a huge kick in fairness. For him to step up, I could see by his whole demeanour, the time he took, the concentration and the focus on his face, I thought, yeah, he’s going to nail this, and what a great kick.”

It was the Scarlets’ first URC win of the season, after derby defeats by Cardiff and the Dragons.

‘Not getting carried away’ after first Scarlets win of the season

Davies said the result mattered, but he played it down. “The win was much needed. After one victory from three games, we’re not getting carried away, and there’s still a lot of work to do, but I’ve seen enough in the first three games to suggest that we can really drive things forward here,” he said.

‘We just fed their game’ as Benetton led 21-7

Before the game, Davies had warned that the first 30 minutes would be important. Benetton scored three tries before the break.

He said: “We gave ourselves a lot to do in that first half. We spoke about doing what we did in the second half for the first half, but we just fed their game really.”

He pointed to the errors that cost them. “We had three kicks that went straight off to give them line-out opportunities. We kicked the ball in the air, didn’t go 10, gave them a penalty. Those were key moments,” he said.

Fletcher Anderson and Gareth Davies ‘a massive impact’ off the bench

Number eight Fletcher Anderson and scrum-half Gareth Davies came on at half-time and changed the game. Anderson was back in the squad after the groin injury that kept him out of the first two rounds.

The director of rugby said: “They are quality players, and it’s great to have Fletcher back; it just gives us a different dimension.”

“It’s not just linear in terms of, we’ve got Fletcher, he comes on. The work he does actually allows other players to free up a little bit as well, so it was a massive impact, and I thought Gareth was superb.”

On the scrum-half, he added: “He’s been struggling with having to sit in the wings a little bit because he’s such a competitor, but I think he’s getting used to actually contributing in different ways to what he’s done in the past, and he came on and made a big difference.”

Blair Murray and Macs Page ‘on the ball’ in the second half

Player of the match Blair Murray started the comeback with an interception try, and Macs Page set up two tries.

Davies said: “One of the ways we want to play is to create an environment where we get these guys on the ball. Because of the errors in our game, we couldn’t do that in the first half, but in the second half we did.”

He added: “I think our highlights reel is quite spectacular after three games, but we need to be more consistent in how we deliver that.”

Newcastle at Parc y Scarlets in the Challenge Cup, with Taine Plumtree due back

The Scarlets now host Newcastle in the EPCR Challenge Cup at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday, 17 October (8pm).

Davies is relishing it. “That’s going to be some game, isn’t it? With the way Newcastle are trying to play as well, that’s going to be an entertaining match. So yeah, I’m looking forward to that,” he said.

He also hopes to have Taine Plumtree back. “We’re in two comps, and we want to do well in both, so Europe’s a great opportunity for us, and we’re going after it. We should also hopefully have Taine back available for us, so that’s great. We’re adding quality now to the team off the back of a win, so that certainly helps.”

‘We really do care’: Davies’ thanks to Scarlets supporters

Before the game, Davies had asked supporters to come down despite the two derby defeats. Afterwards, he paid tribute to them.

“That’s the important bit really,” he said. “They’ve been frustrated understandably, and we needed to show them that we really do care about them and the support they give us is brilliant.”

“Hopefully, they can come back next week and support us again. It really means a lot and I thought they were great today.”

“They stayed with us in that first half when we weren’t really on top of things. And then, in fairness to the players, they gave them something to shout about and to sing about in the second half. So, you know, it’s hopefully the start of where we start to drive forward now.”