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Scarlets prepared for 'different animal' Leinster

Scarlets prepared for 'different animal' Leinster

Yahoo28-05-2025

United Rugby Championship quarter-final: Leinster v Scarlets
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Saturday, 31 May Kick-off: 15:00 BST
Coverage: Watch on BBC One Wales, listen on BBC Radio Wales, follow live text on BBC Sport online.
Captain Josh Macleod says Scarlets are prepared to face a fully loaded Leinster in Saturday's United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final.
Scarlets stunned Leinster with a 35-22 victory at Parc y Scarlets last month, although the runaway league leaders had made 11 changes for the visit to Llanelli.
Leo Cullen rested a number of key players with one eye on the Champions Cup semi-final.
But after losing out in Europe to Northampton Saints focus, the Irish side's focus now shifts back to the URC.
"We're certainly expecting a bigger challenge this weekend with personnel," said Macleod.
"Yes, they're going to be a different animal, we're preparing for that, but we've built nicely as well."
Davies hits milestone as Scarlets stun Leinster
Northampton stun Leinster in Dublin to reach final
Scarlets are making their first appearance in the play-offs since 2018, when they were beaten 40-32 by Leinster in the final.
Leinster, meanwhile, have made it to this stage in each of the past 10 seasons.
And while Macleod recognises his side go to Dublin as underdogs, he believes they are more than capable of claiming another big scalp.
"The confidence is good, there's no complacency, boys are still willing to turn up to work, train hard every day and continue to get better. At this stage of the season you can't really ask for more," said the back-rower.
"We've got a changing room that are willing to fight for each other and when you get to the quarter-finals, who knows what can happen."
Macleod says the Leinster game is a chance for Scarlets to repay some of their fans' faith after what has been a tumultuous period on and off the pitch.
"They've had to endure some pretty tough results over the last couple of years," he said.
"To be able to give back, with the opportunity to come over to Dublin, hopefully we can put out a performance they can be proud of."
Macleod's fine form this season has seen him recalled to Wales' squad for this summer's tour of Japan.
The 28-year-old will be looking to add to the two caps he won in the 2022 autumn internationals.
"It's a massive honour and privilege to be able to get named," he said, while hoping the curtain will not fall on Scarlets' season this weekend.
He is also looking forward to working with Cardiff boss Matt Sherratt, who will once again take interim charge as Wales continue to search for a permanent head coach.
"I've only heard good words, so it's an exciting time and one that I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into," Macleod added.

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