 Nigel Davies hopes Dai Young's team can do the Scarlets a European favour |
Nigel Davies hopes Cardiff Blues can spare the Scarlets' Heineken Cup blushes by winning the Amlin title. The Scarlets failed to qualify for Europe in the Magners League, but they will earn a Heineken Cup reprieve if the Blues beat Toulon in the final. "It'll be tough but if the Blues do us a favour by winning the Amlin Challenge Cup final, then that's good news for us," said Scarlets coach Davies. "We will be watching them in the final and we wish them all the best." The Scarlets have traditionally been Welsh rugby's standard-bearers in Europe after starring in four quarter and three semi-finals since the Heineken Cup's inception in 1996. The west Wales region have been ever-presents in Europe since missing the inaugural year of European rugby's top club competition. But the Scarlets' 39-16 defeat to the Blues last month at Parc y Scarlets confirmed their European heartache as just three of Wales' four regions qualified for the Heineken Cup via the Magners League.  | 606: DEBATE |
But the Scarlets will qualify through the back door if the Blues to them a favour by achieving Amlin Cup glory against Toulon on May 23 in Marseilles. Davies said: "We would have preferred to be a position where we were in control of our own destiny with regards to qualification for the Heineken Cup and not reliant on other results. "But it will be a tough one against Toulon in Marseille in May." Toulon, ironically, beat Davies' Scarlets 38-12 in the quarter-final before seeing off Connacht to qualify for the 23 May Amlin Challenge Cup showpiece. The Blues beat two-time Heineken Cup winners Wasps 18-15 on Saturday - their sixth successive win - to qualify for the final. "It was obviously a hard-fought and tight game. The Blues worked hard to retain their lead in the final quarter of the match. "It's good to see a Welsh side in the final of a European competition and my congratulations go to Dai Young and the Blues players who did well away from home. "It was a brave performance in pretty awful conditions. They have been playing very well of late and have had a good unbeaten run."
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