Patchell praises Scarlets turnaround

Scarlets fly-half Rhys Patchell hailed his side's turnaround in form from the opening day of the season to making the PRO12 play-offs.

The Welsh side beat rivals the Ospreys 40-17 on Saturday in a commanding performance as they ended the regular-season in third place.

Patchell, who moved from Cardiff Blues at the end of 2015/16, applauded his team for their progress and now wants to continue to improve.

"The boys are pleased with the result, especially when you look how far we have come from our first game of the season out at Parc y Scarlets to where we are now. I think we've improved considerably and that's the most pleasing thing," the playmaker told the Scarlets website.

"Winning against the Ospreys, and all that goes with that, is what it is but as a group the most pleasing thing is how far our game has come since round one."

Patchell added that his summer holiday is now on hold, which is a welcome bonus as he looks forward to a knockout clash at Leinster.

"I've never got to this stage of the season not being able to book a summer holiday, that's a first for me! Everybody wants to play in semis, everybody wants to play in finals, he said.

"I think if we put in a repeat performance of what we put out there today [against Ospreys] we won't go far wrong. It's a semi final, and although it may be something of a cliché, anything can happen on the night. As long as we turn up with our 'A' game there's no reason why we can't go out there and win."