Last season’s Guinness PRO12 winners have been all but ruled out by the bookmakers ahead of their trip to the Aviva Stadium, despite the Scarlets beating Leinster in Dublin last season.
Centre Williams admits being written off has stoked the Scarlets’ fires as they aim to become the first Welsh region to be crowned champions of Europe.
“Yes, it has annoyed us,” said Williams, 27. “It was the same last year when nobody expected us to win, but we knew we could do it.
“The bookies have ruled us out completely. We can’t gamble ourselves as players, but I think we are 5/1 to beat Leinster and 9/1 to win the whole competition.
“If I had £20 spare I’d definitely put it on us beating Leinster and winning the whole thing.”
Williams will leave the Scarlets at the end of the season to switch to Welsh rivals Ospreys.
But with his current employers still on for both European and Guinness PRO14 glory, the Wales midfielder is determined to end his career in Llanelli with an historic double.
Williams acknowledges the quality within Leinster’s ranks, but said: “We want to win both competitions and we can do that.
“We’ve fronted up in the big games over the last few seasons and we now really thrive on those challenges.
“There is no damage limitation involved with us, we are going out there to win and we are confident we can do that.
“It’s not going to be easy, but if we play the way we know we can, as we did against Bath for example, then we can beat Leinster.”
Three-time European champions Leinster are in fine form and will host the Scarlets at the Aviva, just a stone’s throw from their usual RDS home.
Scarlets won last season’s PRO12 title with victory over Munster at the home of Irish rugby and Williams added: “The Aviva is not exactly a neutral venue, it’s basically Leinster’s home ground.
“But we went to their home patch in the semi-final last year and won. They’ve got some outstanding players and more importantly, players who are playing well.
“Johnny Sexton is their go-to guy and he seems to control the way they are trying to play. Hopefully he has an off-day against us.
“It’s about making sure we execute the way we want to play, but you never know whether it might be raining so we may have to revert to a tighter game.
“It’s about being smart and making the right call at the time, but we will be focusing on ourselves more than anything.”
