Shane Williams’ column: Why a Scarlets victory is vital for Wales cause

Scarlets face two ‘cup finals' in the next seven days and for the sake of Welsh rugby, it is vital they win them both. I'm sure Cardiff Blues won't thank me for saying that given they are heading to Llanelli today.
But Scarlets are in a fight to qualify for the Champions Cup and it is crucial for them and Wales that we have two teams competing at the top level next season.
Supporting the Scarlets should come naturally for me given I grew up in Amman. I had little choice when I was a youngster and remember many Saturday afternoons at Stradey Park.
But having made the switch to Neath, and then the Ospreys, I quite literally turned to the ‘dark side' at the All Blacks and never looked back. However even I will be cheering on the lads from Parc y Scarlets this week.
Since missing the inaugural Heineken Cup in 1996, Llanelli and the Scarlets have competed in every season of the European Cup.
For 19 years they have sat among the big boys and produced great moments in the tournament's history. None of this current crop want to be held responsible for failing to continue that proud record.
Right now, of the four regions, only the Ospreys are sure of playing top-flight European rugby next year. It would be a disaster for Wales if that remained the case come this time next Sunday.
The regions have struggled to make an impact in the Champions Cup in recent years so we need to have more than one team in the competition if we're ever going to see success.
It's also an important platform for the development of our players.
The Champions Cup is THE club competition to play in, where you face the best teams, the best players and the best coaches. As a stepping-stone to international rugby, it's as good as it gets.
So if the Ospreys are the only Welsh side playing at that level, it would be damaging to Wales as well as the regions.
It's a sad indictment of where the regions are right now but let's give them a break. We all know the troubles they have had in recent years. Now we have to look forward and that starts with qualifying for Europe.
Scarlets began the week in sixth place, just ahead of Edinburgh and Connacht so they have to beat both Cardiff Blues today and Benetton Treviso next Saturday.
Let's be frank, if they can't do that, then perhaps they don't deserve to be in the Champions Cup.
They should have too much firepower for both the Blues and Treviso, though both games are tricky for different reasons.
Welsh derbies are notoriously tricky to predict and some of the Blues are possibly playing for their contracts next season.
Heading to Italy is also fraught with danger. But in players such as Liam Williams and Scott Williams, Scarlets have match-winners to beat them both. Those guys have had to carry the Scarlets this season while the younger players find their feet after losing the likes of George North and Jonathan Davies.
At the start of the season, those youngsters looked somewhat overwhelmed by the jump in level and it showed. They won just two of their first six league games and even by the New Year, had still only won six from 16.
But they have gradually found their feet and are getting stronger as the season goes on. They did well in the Champions Cup, beating both Leicester and Ulster.
Ken Owens is back from injury, Jamie Davies is excelling at openside and they have three exciting scrum-halves. So they have players capable of getting the job done.
If they don't then it's only going to fuel the fire of the critics against regional rugby and create more negativity about the game at that level.