THE FUSE

Under-pressure head coach Dwayne Peel says he is confident he can lead Scarlets off the foot of the United Rugby Championship (URC) table.

Last season's quarter-finalists have endured a torrid start to the 2025-2026 campaign, with just two wins in eight outings.

Scarlets appeared to have turned a corner after the autumn break, but are now reeling from disappointing derby defeats by Ospreys and Dragons.

"Everyone is feeling that hurt," said Peel.

"We're obviously not happy with where we sit in the table, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to say that, but there is a lot of rugby to be played this season and we need to get a bit of momentum back."

That bid starts on Saturday when Scarlets host Pau in the European Champions Cup.

Dragons defeat 'will not define us'

Peel was mocked by jubilant Dragons fans at Rodney Parade last Thursday, with chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning".

"If you lose a couple of games the spotlight will turn on you and I get that," Peel said.

"It is part of professional sport unfortunately, you do get periods where you're on top and you get periods where you lose games, and we've lost two games.

"What we need to do is get back on the horse and make sure that we improve. My job is to fight hard... we will not let that week define us."

Peel will be boosted by the returns to fitness of Sam Lousi, Jake Ball, Taine Plumtree and Blair Murray, while Sam Costelow, Johnny Williams and Archer Holz remain sidelined.

European Champions Cup: Scarlets v Pau

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The bigger picture

While Peel acknowledges results and performances have not be up to Scarlets' standards this season, he said everyone was working hard to improve amid all of Welsh rugby's uncertainties and budget cuts.

"What we've done over the last couple of seasons is transition a team," he said.

"We've had to make a big transition in terms of losing some senior internationals and bringing some younger guys through.

"It's a project that isn't going to be a three month turnaround, we knew that.

"Are we happy with where we are this season? No. Are we happy with where we finished last season? Yes, we were probably on track to where we wanted to go, but we haven't kicked on this season. There are reasons behind that, we've had some high profile injuries etc."

Scarlets will aim to kick on in Europe, before returning to URC action when they host Ulster on Saturday, 24 January.