The West Walians moved one step closer to the continent’s top-table with a bonus-point victory over Newport Gwent Dragons at the Millennium Stadium. They took their chance to rise above Connacht and into sixth spot after the Irish province fell to a 31-13 defeat to table-topping Glasgow Warriors.
Wayne Pivac’s men must hold-on to their league position for their final two matches against Cardiff Blues and Benetton Treviso. And Owens reckons they owe it to the region.
He said: “It’s something I’ve had on my mind all season really, not to be the first Scarlets skipper not to make Europe. I’ve been feeling that pressure and feeling those nerves. Luckily the boys have been fronting up week in week out, we had a slip-up against Edinburgh but it’s in our hands now.
“We owe it to ourselves as a squad and to the region as a whole to qualify for that top tier competition. That’s what you want as rugby players and supporters is to be playing and watching against the best teams in Europe and really challenging yourselves.”
Owens was amongst the tries in-front of a record 52,762 crowd for a Guinness PRO12 match. And the Wales hooker is hoping his men can keep performing when the pressure is on.
He said: “We have two games left against Blues and Treviso and if we win both we should be in the top six. That is our goal, to make the top six, finish on a positive and build on that next year. When the pressure has been on this year and we have had to perform we have done it. We have done it against Leinster, the Ospreys and we have done it again against the Dragons.”
