Landmark win, unwanted history & play-off hopes hit

History was made for right and wrong reasons while play-off hopes took a blow in the penultimate round of the United Rugby Championship.

Scarlets claimed a first away win over one of South Africa's big four but Dragons' worst season was confirmed in Durban.

Further losses also saw Cardiff plummet from fifth to ninth - one place outside the play-offs - and ended Ospreys' hopes of reaching the knock-out matches.

So what is there for Welsh regions to play for in the final week of the URC?

Scarlets backed-up league wins over Ospreys, Dragons and Leinster with victory in Johannesburg over the Lions.

They are now sixth but are still not guaranteed a play-off place.

They face fourth-placed Sharks in Durban and have not won four league games in a row since winning the title in 2017.

But they have the league's top scorer in Ioan Lloyd while Blair Murray's double means only Munster's Tom Farrell has scored more tries this season.

Head coach Dwayne Peel said: "I'm massively proud of the lads after that result [at Lions].

"The big thing for us this season is we wanted to compete and we are doing it right up until the last game.

"It's not done yet. Next week will be a massive challenge but we'll make sure we are ready to go and see how many points we can get."

They could be helped by the fact rivals Munster and Benetton meet each other in their final game. Edinburgh host Ulster while Cardiff visit Stormers.

Could Cardiff's hopes of reaching the play-offs for the first time come down to a missed pass between Gabriel Hamer-Webb and Cam Winnett?

Cardiff knew their best hope of claiming a crucial point at Bulls that could prove enough to secure a top-eight finish was likely from scoring tries.

But they fell agonisingly short of a bonus, despite second-half tries from Alex Mann, Teddy Williams and Hamer-Webb in the 45-21 loss.

Earlier Hamer-Webb had beaten three defenders but failed to find Winnett with what looked like a scoring pass.

"We're not going to review that game in huge detail," said head coach Matt Sherratt.

"We've got a six-day turnaround so the boys have had two days off to rest and recover because if we're not emotionally and physically right [for Stormers] then the technical and tactical stuff won't matter."

Key for Cardiff will be Taulupe Faletau, instrumental in the late comeback as a replacement against Bulls, while Alun Lawrence and Teddy Williams lead the league for tackles.

Ospreys pulled off a minor miracle to scrape into the play-offs last season but a poor start to the campaign and recent defeats in Welsh derbies meant they were struggling to qualify even before a 29-10 loss at Sharks.

They end their season at Lions in a game with nothing to play for other than building for next season when head coach Mark Jones starts his first campaign in charge.

"We've got the main ingredients to do well," said Jones.

"The scoreboard [against Sharks] feels painful when you look at the effort we put in but we didn't execute those big moments.

"But when you've got incredible work rate, good fitness and players who care for the team then we can fix the other things with coaching and time on the training pitch."

Dragons head to the "toughest away fixture in the league", according to Sherratt, at the Bulls needing a point to avoid equalling the worst URC league season.

It is already the lowest tally for Dragons - or Newport - in a one-division version of the competition's varied 24-year history.

But they are still equal with the Zebre team of 2021-22 who claimed just nine points after losing 17 of 18 games.

"We have a lot of young guys getting opportunities who are not quite ready yet, but that is where we are at," said Dragons head coach Filo Tiatia.

"They have to keep learning and growing but I'm excited about the DNA of the group."

"With the last couple of years Wales have been going through, he is a true warrior and really deserves his spot."

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