Smith reflects on Scarlets defeat

Tries from Josh MacLeod and Macs Page either side of half-time, along with three penalties from the boot of Sam Costelow, saw the home side take their first victory of the season in front of the Parc y Scarlets faithful.

“First of all, I want to pay compliment to the Scarlets,” Smith told Premier Sports following the full-time whistle.

“They were way more determined than us, which is strange as we came here with more than enough confidence in ourselves to put out a better performance than we did tonight. They defended well and they were first to all the scraps, as well as winning the penalty count.”

Smith was frank in his reflection on his side’s own performance, underlining that the display falls below the standards the squad sets for itself.

“We lost the aerial battle and the breakdown,” he said.

“We were very good in both areas against the Ospreys the last time we visited Wales, but tonight we were second best in both areas.

“I’m not going to make excuses, however – there’s obviously a lot of work to be done for us and tonight was a wake-up call for us.”

The Glasgow boss has full faith in his squad’s ability to bounce back from their disappointment, though, as attentions now turn to the kick-off of the Investec Champions Cup this Friday.

Smith will be able to select from a playing group that will also include further returning Scotland internationals, as a six day turnaround sees the Warriors head to the Corpacq Stadium for a clash with Sale Sharks this Friday.

“Every team is going to have one game like that per season,” said Smith.

“It happens, and while obviously everyone is hurting after that result, this result will serve us with the information we need to reset, re-think and be ready to go again as we head into Europe.

“There are some fresh bodies in our environment that didn’t play for either Scotland against Tonga or for us here tonight, so we know they’ll be bringing the energy when they come back in this week.”