Tuesday 27 March 2018 15:44, UK
The Scarlets will contest their first European Cup knockout game for 11 years on Friday and head coach Wayne Pivac does not want it to be the end of the journey.
Champions Cup debutants La Rochelle stand between the Scarlets and a semi-final place after the Welsh region qualified from a group that included former European champions Toulon and Bath.
Having won the PRO12 last season and provided numerous players to Warren Gatland's Wales squad for the Six Nations, the Scarlets could hardly be in better shape for a full-scale tilt at European glory.
"It has always been our aim to try and knock off the PRO12 [title] between three and five years, and we did that in the third year," said Pivac.
"Now, the focus for the team is to try and back that up, but also to compete and make the knockout stages of Europe, and we've done that. But to get to the quarter-finals of Europe is a bit like us getting to the play-offs last year.
"The team is hungry. They don't want to just say, 'okay we've made the play-offs in both competitions and that's a big tick for the season'.
"We are looking at this game and saying we are 80 minutes away from the top four of the top competition in Europe, which would be an amazing achievement for this team and the budgets we run off.
"And then you are 80 minutes away from the big show, so there is a lot to play for and get excited about.
"It is great to be in the play-offs of the PRO12 and then win it, because you are up against teams with a lot more resources than we have - the Munsters and Leinsters of the world - but we always believed in that competition that if we got our top side on the field, or close to it, then we could compete with anybody.
"Europe is another story again. You have got the best of our competition with the best of the French and the English.
"It is different styles of rugby, it is different challenges for the coaches and team in terms of preparation, reviewing our performance, previewing the opposition.
"You have got the northern hemisphere's best players on show."
A capacity crowd of more than 15,000 will witness the Scarlets' semi-final bid but La Rochelle, who currently lie fifth in the Top 14, will offer a stern examination, especially after winning their Champions Cup group ahead of Wasps, Ulster and Harlequins.
"They move a lot of ball, and in terms of the stats in the competition they kick the ball the least," said Pivac. "There is a lot of ball movement from anywhere on the park.
"We know that they are going to be a handful. You don't sit in the top half of the Top 14 and get through to this stage of Europe without being a good side.
"This game is a huge opportunity for the club, and it is the biggest game, clearly, since I have been here.
"The reaction of the community, selling the ground out after 45 minutes of tickets going on sale just shows what it means to everybody."
