Wales’ rival scrum-halves Gareth Davies and Rhys Webb could get a European showdown after the Six Nations – providing Toulon play ball.
The pair have been drawn together in the quarter-finals of the European Challenge Cup after the Scarlets and Toulon both made it through to the last eight.
Webb’s Toulon topped their pool but will face runners-up Scarlets – and Davies – in the first weekend of April, after the Welsh region sneaked through as the final qualifier.
Brad Mooar’s side went through after a 33-14 bonus point win over London Irish at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday night.
Davies was rested two weeks before the start of the Six Nations, but his European head-to-head with Webb depends on whether the French club have a change of heart.
Toulon owner Bernard Lemairtre has suggested Webb may have played his last match for the club after they agreed to release him from his contract a year early in order to rejoin the Ospreys next season.
First-half tries for the Scarlets in Reading from Corey Baldwin, Dan Jones and Kieran Hardy cancelled out an early Irish score for Albert Tuisue to earn a 21-7 half-time lead.
A penalty try, then Steff Evans’ try secured a five-point win despite Tuisue crossing late for a consolation score.
Bore da @scarlets_rugby fans. How are we all this morning? https://t.co/sCdb6b3PQc
— Scarlets Rugby (@scarlets_rugby) January 19, 2020
Scarlets coach Mooar said: “We’re thrilled. There’s a huge buzz in the changing room. We talked about being bold and brave and having a night of celebration.
“The tries came from really good rugby, exerting territory and possession pressure. We probably left three or four out there which didn’t come off.
“The work the boys and the coaching staff are putting in was a pleasure to watch. The scrum was outstanding. So too was the defence which created a number of turnovers that we then played off.”
The Dragons are also through to the quarter-finals after they beat Russian side Enisei-STM 47-5 on Friday night to finish pool runners-up and clinch the seventh seed spot.
They face a tough trip to high-flying Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate, a former club of Dragons coach Dean Ryan, who said: “I’m sure the quarter-final will be one of the highlights of our experiences this year.
“I’m really pleased for the group to get qualification through some challenging games.
“At half-time (having scored two tries) we talked about some very simple things to make sure we got the bonus point.
“Not to play too much but just get the point and get out of here. The group should enjoy being talked about and qualifying,” added Ryan, who ended his playing days with Bristol in 2000 before moving onto the coaching side with the club.
Congratulations to @dragonsrugby who reached the #ChallengeCupRugby knockout stages with a convincing win tonight! 👏 https://t.co/FeMbPZYoN8
— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) January 17, 2020
Bristol finished as second seeds after their 7-7 draw in Italy against Zebre, and Dragons backs coach Barry Maddocks hopes his side’s style will be suited to facing their neighbours.
“For us to play a team that wants to play (open rugby) a bit helps our game, because the boys are quite happy to be in that zone,” he said.
“It’ll be great for the boys to play at Ashton Gate, though we would have been looking for a bit more of a trip.”
The qualifiers for the 2019/20 Challenge Cup quarter-finals and their rankings at the conclusion of the pool stage are as follows:
1 RC Toulon (winner Pool 2 – 28 points)
2 Bristol Bears (winner Pool 4 – 26 points)
3 Bordeaux-Bègles (winner Pool 3 – 26 points)
4 Leicester Tigers (winner Pool 5 – 23 points)
5 Castres Olympique (winner Pool 1 – 23 points)
6 Edinburgh Rugby (best pool runner-up – 21 points)
7 Dragons (second best pool runner-up – 20 points)
8 Scarlets (third best pool runner-up – 19 points)
The quarter-final matches to be played on 3/4/5 April are as follows:
QF 1: RC Toulon v Scarlets, Stade Félix Mayol
QF 2: Leicester Tigers v Castres Olympique, Welford Road
QF 3: Bordeaux-Bègles v Edinburgh Rugby, Stade Chaban-Delmas
QF 4: Bristol Bears v Dragons, Ashton Gate Stadium
NB The exact dates, kick-off times and broadcast coverage for the matches will be announced towards the end of next week.