Two defeats of great consequence within the space to a month could reasonably be considered a hammer blow to the confidence and morale of a team. And undoubtedly was for the Scarlets.

The first infliction came in the European Cup, a heavy semi-final defeat to the Dublin based side (38 – 16) on April 21st. A little more than a month later, and back to the Aviva stadium, Scarlets again faced the formidable Leinster, and once again fell to an agonising defeat. This time out, the scoreline was a little more flattering at 40 – 32 thanks to some late on pressure and scores when inevitably were not enough to claim the Guinness PRO14 title.

Forward to round two of the new Guinness PRO14 season after a summer break and re-group, the Parc y Scarlets filled with the prospect of revenge on Leinster, the team that beat them on both of those momentous occasions.

Ken Owens was quick out the blocks with a try, converted by Leigh Halfpenny, perfect from the tee on the day with scores that would ultimately prove the difference. Slipping behind just before the break, the Scarlets could have imploded but they held tight and chipped away at their familiar foes.

A Gareth Davies try on the 68th minute settled the nerves and even with a late Leinster score, the home team prevailed, finally. To that, the Scarlets extended their home winning run to 22 games. A feat that they would extend to 26 games before being unceremoniously’ defeated by the Cardiff Blues.