Other than that, Swansea made the final four in 1996, Llanelli were semi-finalists in 2000 and 2002. From there the Scarlets took over and were semi-finalists in 2007 and 2018.
There have been many famous days and wins in Europe for Welsh clubs and regions, but few can match up to the achievement of Phil Davies’ Scarlets at Stradey Park in 2007. They had won all six games in their pool, completing doubles over Toulouse, Ulster and London Irish, and found themselves drawn against reigning champions Munster.
The Irish province were in their pomp at the time, packed full of world class players like Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer, Christian Cullen, Trevor Halstead, Donnacha O’Callaghan. They had been finalists in 2000 and 2002 and won the title for the first time in 2006 at the Millennium Stadium. They had enjoyed a 12 match unbeaten run up to their final pool match, when they were beaten in Limerick by Leicester.
That 13-6 defeat meant they finished second in their pool and lost out on a home quarter-final. The Scarlets, meanwhile, finished as second seeds behind Biarritz Olympique, who scored 29 out of a maximum 30 points with six wins.
It was the first time a Welsh side had gone through a pool campaign unbeaten and has only been matched once since then, by Cardiff Blues in 2008/09. The quarter-final made it a record seven wins in a row, once again matched by the Blues two years later.
‘I WAS THERE’
When they write the history of the fabled home of Welsh rugby, Stradey Park, Friday, 30 March, 2007 will be writ large in the pages. A full house of 10,800 turned out to see the home heroes take on a team that had just reached a record ninth quarter-final in their quest to win the title for a second successive year. The visitors may have arrived without their injured talisman, Ireland’s legendary lock Paul O’Connell, who was injured, but they still fancied their chances. They also travelled with their normal army of faithful, nosy fans. It set-up an epic contest.
In his report in The Guardian, Paul Rees heaped huge praise on the Scarlets in his intro:
No Welsh side has won the Heineken Cup, but none in the 12-year history of the competition has shown the skill, aggression, pace and physical domination that Llanelli Scarlets last night inflicted on the holders Munster. The Irishmen have often experienced heartbreak in a tournament they have come to personify, but rarely, not even last January when Leicester, the Scarlets’ potential opponents in the semi-final later this month, stormed Thomond Park, have they been taken apart so systematically.
It was a wet night and, by the end, it was a thoroughly miserable experience for the Munstermen. They had to go home with their tail firmly between their legs, while the Scarlets marched into a semi-final in Leicester against Leicester Tigers.
The town centre of Llanelli was gridlocked for most of the afternoon, tickets traded at five times face value and the ground was packed two hours before kick-off. A late try from Donnacha Ryan saved some of Munster’s blushes on a night when they were well beaten. Alix Popham was rightly named as the Heineken Man of the Match for his abrasive efforts, Stephen Jones got the better of opposite number O’Gara and Regan King was sublime. Wings Dafydd James and Mark Jones applied the cutting edge and James notched his 29th European try with only six minutes on the clock.
Dwayne Peel and Mark Jones celebrate the third try from Barry Davies
Jones added the extras and with half-time approaching Munster were still hanging on by their fingernails. Then everything changed in the final three minutes before the break. Full back Barry Davies used the cross-bar to land a monster penalty from inside his own half and then flanker Gavin Thomas picked up a loose ball to crash over as his back row colleague Popham missed out. Jones converted and it was 17-0 to the home side.
Those three minutes had turned a tight tussle into a walk in the park for the home side. It was a masterclass on the field as the intensity of the Scarlets play knocked the champions completely out of their stride. They made them look ordinary in an era when few sides could dream of doing so. In the coaching box the unsung Davies took Declan Kidney to school with the perfect game plan.
The second half saw O’Gara kick two penalties, Lifeimi Mafi make a break that led to a try for Ian Dowling on the wing and then that late score from replacement lock Ryan. Much too little to make a difference to the outcome and, in any case, Davies added a third try for good measure that Jones converted to complete one of the great nights at Stradey Park.
SCARLETS 24, MUNSTER 15
HT: 17-0 Att: 10,800
Scarlets: Barry Davies; Dafydd James, Regan King (Matthew Watkins 79), Gavin Evans, Mark Jones; Stephen Jones, Dwayne Peel; Iestyn Thomas, Matthew Rees, Deacon Manu (John Davies 78), Vernon Cooper (Inoke Afeaki 62), Scott MacLeod, Simon Easterby (captain), Gavin Thomas, Alix Popham (Dafydd Jones 75)
YC: I Afeaki 65
Reps Unused: Ken Owens, Liam Davies, Ceiron Thomas
Scorers: Tries: D James, G Thomas, B Davies; Cons: S Jones 3; Pen: B Davies
Munster: Christian Cullen; John Kelly (Barry Murphy 71), Lifeimi Mafi, Trevor Halstead, Ian Dowling (Tomas O’Leary 75); Ronan O’Gara (captain), Peter Stringer; Marcus Horan (Federico Pucciariello 77), Jerry Flannery, John Hayes, Donncha O’Callaghan, Mick O’Driscoll (Donnacha Ryan 78), Alan Quinlan, David Wallace, Denis Leamy
Reps Unused: Frankei Sheahan, Anthony Foley, Jeremy Manning
Scorers: Tries: I Dowling, D Ryan; Con: R O’Gara; Pen: R O’Gara
Heineken Man of the Match: Alix Popham (Scarlets)
Referee: Chris White (England)
