Scarlets to embrace 'greatest challenge' in Dublin

United Rugby Championship quarter-final: Leinster v Scarlets

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Saturday, 31 May Kick-off: 15:00 BST

Coverage: Watch connected BBC One Wales, perceive connected BBC Radio Wales Extra, travel unrecorded matter connected BBC Sport online.

Scarlets caput coach Dwayne Peel says location is nary greater task than facing Leinster successful Dublin, but has urged his broadside to clasp nan challenge.

Peel's broadside are underdogs against nan Irish squad for nan United Rugby Championship (URC) play-off quarter-final astatine nan Aviva Stadium.

Leinster topped nan convention aft nan regular season, though 1 of only 2 defeats for Leo Cullen's men came against Scarlets successful Llanelli successful April.

With erstwhile Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies injured, Scarlets person named an unchanged 23 from nan final-day convention conclusion against Sharks successful Durban.

Leinster are missing Ireland centres Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose, and British and Irish Lions prop Tadhg Furlong.

They still see New Zealand centre Jordie Barrett, pinch nan star-studded broadside led by Lions number 8 Jack Conan, while Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan and South Africa fastener RG Snyman are among nan replacements.

Scarlets qualified for nan play-offs for nan first clip successful 7 years aft finishing eighth successful nan URC, pinch nan prize tackling apical seeds Leinster connected their location turf.

"It's going to beryllium a awesome juncture and a lawsuit of embracing it," said Peel.

"It's not astir chasing 5 points, it's knockout rugby and it's each connected nan day.

"We want to spell further, we want to push a awesome squad successful Leinster arsenic acold arsenic we can."

This is Scarlets' first quality successful nan convention play-offs since they were finalists successful 2018.

After a 35-22 triumph against a second-string Leinster past month, Scarlets person not won successive matches against nan Irish broadside since 2015, but cognize they will beryllium facing a different proposition this weekend.

"There's nary greater task than going to Dublin and we're looking guardant to that challenge," said Peel.

"We won't awkward distant from it, you've sewage to person assurance successful your ain group erstwhile you spell there.

"As overmuch arsenic they person immoderate world-class names successful their group, we've sewage immoderate beautiful bully players and we're going to spell location and springiness it nan champion we can."

Peel faced much questions this week connected nan off-the-field uncertainty surrounding Welsh rugby pinch Scarlets and Ospreys successful conflict pinch nan Welsh Rugby Union.

There are suggestions nan WRU is contemplating cutting a master squad pinch nan 2 westbound Wales regions successful a much precarious position that Cardiff and Dragons having not signed nan caller Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA).

Scarlets are nan only Welsh broadside to person reached nan play-offs during a play successful which nan Wales men's nationalist broadside extended their losing world streak to a grounds 17 matches.

Leinster person erstwhile Scarlets and Wales forwards coach Robin McBryde successful their backroom staff.

McBryde stated successful February he feared rugby has mislaid its psyche successful Wales and called nan business "very sad" aft Warren Gatland had near his domiciled arsenic caput coach.

"It has been a difficult twelvemonth for Welsh rugby truthful everybody is looking for immoderate benignant of sparkling light," said McBryde.

"Hopefully it [Welsh rugby] will get backmost to wherever it was before.

"I americium not judge if Scarlets consciousness they person thing to suffer and tin propulsion nan room descend astatine it against us.

"If truthful that could make them an moreover much vulnerable team.

"It's substance for them to travel present and beryllium a point. So Scarlets will move up and fancy their chances and beryllium a stern trial for us."

Leinster are reeling from their Challenge Cup semi-final conclusion by Northampton astatine nan Aviva Stadium earlier this month.

"Everybody has looked astatine themselves crossed nan committee since nan Northampton defeat," said McBryde.

"We person had a mates of bully sessions wherever we person had immoderate honorable feedback of wherever we tin improve.

"We person spoken astir it arsenic players and coaches. Was our mindset successful nan correct framework of mind going into that game? Did we deliberation we had a correct to beryllium successful nan final? I don't know.

"We person fallen short again successful nan Champions Cup truthful hopefully we tin spell a measurement further successful nan URC this season."

"The URC quarter-finals gives america different opportunity to show we tin do that successful a knockout shape of a title because successful nan past 3 seasons up to this constituent of nan twelvemonth we person been beautiful good.

This is Leinster's 10th successive quality successful nan play-offs, but they person not won nan convention title since 2021, which was nan past of 4 consecutive successes.

"It's 1 crippled astatine a time," said McBryde.

"If we tin beryllium bully capable connected nan play and hit what is simply a very cohesive Scarlets squad past we will extremity up reaching nan aforesaid shape arsenic nan past 3 seasons.

"It will beryllium springiness america an opportunity to spell a measurement further, but that's astir it. You can't return thing for granted and it's each connected nan day.

"We person seen successful nan past teams travel to play against Leinster successful nan Aviva and raise their game.

"Scarlets will beryllium a reliable seed to crack. We are going to person to return attraction of our ain business and make judge we are learning lessons quickly."

Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O'Brien, Jamie Osborne, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan (capt).

Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Jack Boyle, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Luke McGrath, Ciaran Frawley.

Scarlets: Blair Murray; Tom Rogers, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Ellis Mee; Sam Costelow, Archie Hughes; Alec Hepburn, Ryan Elias, Henry Thomas, Alex Craig, Sam Lousi, Vaea Fifita, Josh Macleod (capt), Taine Plumtree.

Replacements: Marnus van der Merwe, Kemsley Mathias, Sam Wainwright, Dan Davis, Jarrod Taylor, Efan Jones, Ioan Lloyd, Macs Page.

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)

Assistant referees: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR), Federico Vedovelli (FIR)

TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU).