| Club: | Llanelli Scarlets |
| Season: | 2004–05 |
| Head Coach: | Gareth Jenkins |
| Chairman: | Stuart Gallacher |
| League: | Celtic League |
| League Result: | 5th |
| Cup1: | Celtic Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Final |
| Cup2: | Heineken Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Pool stage, 3rd |
| Highest Attendance: | 8,266 vs Neath–Swansea Ospreys (7 May 2005) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 4,129 vs Borders (17 December 2004) |
| Prevseason: | 2003–04 |
| Nextseason: | 2005–06 |
The 2004–05 season was the second season in the history of the Llanelli Scarlets rugby union team. They competed in the Celtic League, in which they finished in fifth place, as well as the Celtic Cup and Heineken Cup. They reached the final of the Celtic Cup, losing 27–16 to Munster at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, but won just two matches in their Heineken Cup pool, finishing third behind Toulouse and Northampton Saints.
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 2004 | Borders | A | 26–15 | Tries: Finau, Wyatt, G. Thomas, Easterby Conversions: Bowen (3) | 2,000 | |
| 10 September 2004 | Neath–Swansea Ospreys | H | 6–23 | Penalties: A. Thomas (2) | 8,173 | |
| 17 September 2004 | Newport Gwent Dragons | A | 0–15 | 5,182 | ||
| 25 September 2004 | Edinburgh | H | 37–16 | Tries: Selley, Watkins, A. Thomas, Taylor, G. Evans Conversions: A. Thomas (2), Bowen Penalties: A. Thomas, Bowen | 7,648 | |
| 3 October 2004 | Munster | A | 13–19 | Tries: G. Evans, Phillips Penalty: Bowen | 9,000 | |
| 9 October 2004 | Connacht | H | 21–29 | Tries: Peel, D. Jones Conversions: Bowen Penalties: Bowen (3) | 6,281 | |
| 7 November 2004 | Cardiff Blues | A | 10–14 | Try: B. Davies Conversion: Bowen Penalty: Bowen | 4,832 | |
| 14 November 2004 | Leinster | H | 24–22 | Tries: Watkins, Havili, B. Davies Conversions: Bowen (3) Penalty: Bowen | 4,200 | |
| 19 November 2004 | Glasgow | A | 29–40 | Tries: B. Davies, Finau, Phillips, G. Evans Conversions: Bowen (3) Penalty: Bowen | 1,751 | |
| 28 November 2004 | Ulster | H | 22–9 | Try: John Conversion: Bowen Penalties: Bowen (5) | 5,334 | |
| 17 December 2004 | Borders | H | 39–22 | Tries: Bowen, Havili (2), D. Jones, Selley, Watkins Conversions: Bowen (2), A. Thomas Penalty: Bowen | 4,129 | |
| 26 December 2004 | Neath–Swansea Ospreys | A | 7–28 | Try: Mills Conversion: Bowen | 10,280 | |
| 1 January 2005 | Newport Gwent Dragons | H | 35–26 | Tries: Watkins (2), Jones (2) Conversions: Bowen (3) Penalties: Bowen (3) | 6,372 | |
| 21 January 2005 | Edinburgh | A | 0–23 | 1,628 | ||
| 29 January 2005 | Munster | H | 32–17 | Tries: Watkins, Powell, Havili, Wyatt Conversions: Bowen (3) Penalties: Bowen (2) | 7,530 | |
| 18 February 2005 | Connacht | A | 18–11 | Tries: Phillips (2) Conversion: Bowen Penalties: Bowen (2) | 1,660 | |
| 20 March 2005 | Cardiff Blues | H | 25–13 | Tries: John, Powell, Cooper Conversions: Bowen (2) Penalties: Bowen (2) | 6,116 | |
| 25 March 2005 | Leinster | A | 25–31 | Try: Selley Conversion: Bowen Penalties: Bowen (5) Drop goal: Bowen | 4,200 | |
| 9 April 2005 | Glasgow | H | 30–57 | Tries: Havili (2), Selley, Wyatt, B. Davies Conversion: Bowen Penalty: Bowen | 6,480 | |
| 15 April 2005 | Ulster | A | 3–16 | Penalty: Bowen | 7,948 |
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TBP | LBP | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Leinster | 20 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 455 | 350 | +105 | 46 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 57 | |
| 4 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 381 | 436 | −55 | 39 | 43 | 4 | 2 | 50 | |
| 5 | Llanelli Scarlets | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 402 | 446 | −44 | 48 | 42 | 7 | 3 | 46 | |
| 6 | Glasgow Warriors | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 465 | 466 | −1 | 40 | 58 | 4 | 7 | 45 | |
| 7 | Edinburgh | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 409 | 407 | +2 | 47 | 40 | 4 | 4 | 44 |
| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 April 2005 | Quarter-finals | Newport Gwent Dragons | A | 49–19 | Tries: Selley (3), Havili (2), G. Evans Conversions: C. Thomas (5) Penalties: C. Thomas (2), B. Davies | 3,120 | |
| 29 April 2005 | Semi-finals | Neath–Swansea Ospreys | H | 23–15 | Tries: J. Davies, G. Quinnell Conversions: C. Thomas (2) Penalties: C. Thomas (2), B. Davies | 8,266 | |
| 6 May 2005 | Final | Munster | N | 16–27 | Try: Phillips 34' c Conversion: C. Thomas Penalties: C. Thomas (3) 12', 42', 59' | 11,500 |
The Scarlets were drawn into Pool 3 for the 2004–05 Heineken Cup. For the second season in a row, they were paired with Northampton Saints, along with Toulouse from France and Glasgow from Scotland.[1] They began the pool stage on 22 October with a narrow 9–6 defeat at home to Toulouse, a game they should have won thanks to two missed try-scoring opportunities.[2] The following week they faced Northampton, whom they had beaten twice the previous season, but this time they managed just a penalty as Northampton recorded a 25–3 win.[3]
In December, the Scarlets recorded their first wins, home and away against Glasgow. In the away leg on 5 December, the Scarlets claimed the bonus point before half-time thanks to tries from Gavin Thomas, Matthew Watkins (2) and Garan Evans, and held off a comeback by Glasgow to claim a 29–26 win.[4] Another bonus-point victory at Stradey Park the following week, thanks to braces from Aisea Havili, Tal Selley and another try from Vernon Cooper, kept the Scarlets in with a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.[5]
That chance was extinguished when European rugby resumed in January 2005, as a last-minute try from World Cup-winning England hooker Steve Thompson gave Northampton a 22–20 win. Although the Scarlets could finish second in their pool with victory over Toulouse the following week, their points total would not be enough to be one of the two best runners-up.[6] Although the Scarlets scored five tries against Toulouse, including a double from Chris Wyatt, the French side scored eight of their own to win 53–36, confirming a third-place finish for the Scarlets.[7]
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Pool position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 October 2004 | Toulouse | H | 6–9 | Penalties: A. Thomas (2) | 7,867 | 3rd | |
| 30 October 2004 | Northampton Saints | A | 3–25 | Penalty: A. Thomas | 11,939 | 3rd | |
| 5 December 2004 | Glasgow | A | 29–26 | Tries: G. Thomas, Watkins (2), G. Evans Conversions: Bowen (3) Penalty: Bowen | 2,281 | 3rd | |
| 12 December 2004 | Glasgow | H | 38–22 | Tries: Havili (2), Selley (2), Cooper Conversions: Watkins, Bowen Penalties: Bowen (3) | 4,500 | 3rd | |
| 9 January 2005 | Northampton Saints | H | 20–22 | Try: G. Thomas Penalties: Bowen (5) | 7,197 | 3rd | |
| 14 January 2005 | Toulouse | A | 36–53 | Tries: Wyatt (2), J. Davies, Powell, Selley Conversions: Bowen (4) Penalty: Bowen | 16,900 | 3rd |
| Team | P | W | D | L | TF | TA | TD | PF | PA | PD | TBP | LBP | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Toulouse (2) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 181 | 104 | +77 | 3 | 1 | 24 | |
| Northampton Saints (7) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 128 | 101 | +27 | 1 | 0 | 21 | |
| Llanelli Scarlets | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 17 | −2 | 132 | 157 | −25 | 3 | 2 | 13 | |
| Glasgow | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 25 | −14 | 107 | 186 | −79 | 0 | 2 | 2 |