This weekend’s trip to the Aviva Stadium is the gateway to a possible Champions Cup Final in Bilbao, while next week it will be a packed Principality Stadium for Judgement Day VI against the Dragons. A win there will set-up a home quarter-final in the Guinness PRO14.
The Scarlets are the reigning champions in that tournament and could face a further trip to Dublin for back-to-back finals if they can keep on winning. That’s the goal and the Welsh international says his side will remain true to the principles that have got them into this position.
“It would be fantastic if we could reach the final, not just for the Scarlets, but also for Welsh rugby. We are fully aware of just what an opportunity this is, but that’s all it is at the moment,” said Patchell.
“It is potentially an incredible end to the season for us, but it could all come crashing down. I am sure there will be little tweaks to the game plan, but by and large teams play the same all year round.
“We know Leinster are a side to be reckoned with and we are fully aware we must bring our ‘A’ game to the Aviva because they will be bringing theirs. They have a squad full of fantastic players, but what surprised teams in the last few weeks of last season was we really stuck to our guns and believed in the way we were playing.”
Should the Scarlets beat Leinster they will become the first Welsh side to reach a European final since Cardiff in 1996. They have been to three semi-finals in the past, in 2000, 2002 and 2007, but never reached the final.
Wales’ four regions have by now normally fallen away in European competition. This season is different, though, with Scarlets still on course for Champions Cup glory and Cardiff Blues in the last four of the Challenge Cup.
Playmaker Patchell, whose fine regional form helped him break into the Wales team for the Six Nations, is relishing the thought of what might be achieved.
“These four-week periods don’t come along very often. It is exciting and if we get things right, it could be unbelievable,” he added.
“The mantra is the same every week – get Monday right, Tuesday right and Wednesday right and then fire all of our bullets on Saturday.
“When I went to sleep after the quarter-final with La Rochelle it was a relief to get it over with because it was such a big build-up to that game with all the talk about reaching the semi-finals for the first time in 11 years. It was such a big deal and I was relieved we got it right on the day.
“You get excited about thinking about what could be, but I am very aware that every day until then counts.”
Patchell helped the Scarlets thrash Munster at the Aviva in last season’s PRO14 final. His last visit to the home of Irish rugby saw him kicking his heels on the sidelines as a travelling reserve for Wales in their Six Nations defeat to Joe Schmidt’s Grand Slam winners, but this time around the 24-year-old is a certain starter, either at fly-half or full-back.
“The last time I went to the Aviva I ran the best shuttles of my life on the sidelines,” Patchell joked. “It is not the biggest capacity in world rugby, but there is a big wall of sound there. It is an exciting place to play.
“Johnny Sexton is a fantastic rugby player with a lot of Lions tours behind him. You don’t do that unless you are very good at what you do. He is the fulcrum for what Leinster do, but they have a conveyor belt of talent. Everyone knows what is required of them when they play for Leinster, they all understand the system.”
