Scarlets' achievement 'should not be overshadowed'

Josh Macleod has captained Scarlets for the past two seasons

Scarlets skipper Josh Macleod says their achievement of reaching the United Rugby Championship (URC) play-offs for the first time in seven years should not be overshadowed by Welsh rugby's off-field crisis.

The Welsh region finished eighth at the end of the regular season, despite defeat in their final game at Sharks in Durban, to set up a quarter-final away to top side Leinster on Saturday, 31 May.

But while the players and coaches were celebrating in South Africa, so another saga was unfolding back home.

Scarlets and Ospreys have not signed up to the Welsh Rugby Union's (WRU) new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) and have been served notice on their current deal which expires in 2027.

It means they will both receive smaller budgets compared to Cardiff and Dragons - who have signed - as a result of a new two-tier funding system.

The WRU has also neither confirmed or denied it intends to cut a region.

"We were obviously out in South Africa, come back and headlines have broke," Macleod told the Scrum V podcast.

"There's obviously a couple of conversations that go on in camp, but from my perspective, as captain, we've just been focused on one, the games out in South Africa and two, a massive opportunity in a quarter-final."

Scarlets' play-off qualification was boosted by consecutive bonus-point wins against Ospreys, Dragons, Leinster and Lions.

"We haven't been involved in this stage of the competition since 2018, which is a fair old stint, as a squad. Where we've come from in comparison to last season, the growth that we've shown, I think that's something that needs to be recognised as a massive achievement," said Macleod.

Scarlets travel to Dublin having stunned Leinster in their 35-22 victory in Llanelli just a few weeks ago.

Leinster had rested a raft of front-line stars for their Champions Cup semi-final and Macleod knows they will be a different animal come the quarter-final.

"It's going to be interesting, they're probably going to have a slightly stronger squad than previously," said the back row, "but who knows?"

Reflecting on the season as a whole, Macleod added: "At the start we set out as a team to compete in every facet in every game and for large parts we've done that. We've been there or thereabouts throughout the season and something has obviously clicked towards the tail end.

"Can I put a finger on it? No. Is it luck? I don't know. Is it a lot of hard work? Most definitely.

"We've got a tough group at the moment that are willing to fight for each other and you can't really go too wrong with that."