In his first start since picking up an untimely injury at the Rugby World Cup, the Scarlets No 10 converted all four of his side’s tries in a famous bonus-point victory “Throughout the week we knew it was going to be a massive challenge but our forwards matched them in every department so a lot of praise needs to go to them,” said Priestland.
“We were quite lucky with the way we scored our tries but we like to play rugby with the Scarlets and we were rewarded for that. We also kicked a lot of ball to put pressure on them which gained some reward.
“We would take five points above them any day of the week at Franklin’s Gardens. I thought our defence was outstanding, although we were pretty disappointed to let Northampton score a losing bonus point because they could still come back in the group to qualify.
“It was quite a strange situation for me because this was the first time that I started at 10 for the Scarlets in the Heineken Cup when Steve was fit. There was a little bit more pressure on me but Steve was great for me in the build-up to the week.
“He has contributed in all the meetings and given his opinion on what he has seen and been a massive help. There is a lot of confidence in the squad and we are all comfortable with the way we want to play.”
Priestland came off towards the end of the game after picking up a bang on his troublesome shoulder, but Scarlets coach Nigel Davies said they weren’t worried about it “The shoulder was nowhere near as bad as it was in the quarter-final against Ireland. I just landed on the same shoulder which was a bit sore but it has eased off,” exlained Priestland.
“If I am selected against Australia it would be great. We have to be confident and we owe them one after the last game.
“We are going to come up against the Aussies a lot in the next year and it is a chance to get one over on them first on home soil. I ran out at outside-half against England at Cardiff in August which was very special.
“Every time I got named at 10 I had to pinch myself to believe it. I have enjoyed every game and just been really lucky with the players and the coaches.”
