Another bumper weekend of European rugby has come to an end with the Scarlets left to fly the Welsh flag.
They reached the last four of the Challenge Cup after a dramatic victory over French giants Clermont Auvergne in Llanelli.
It wasn't as happy a weekend for Cardiff who failed to join the Scarlets in the semi-finals after a narrow defeat to Benetton in northern Italy.
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Here, then, are the weekend’s rugby winners and losers:
WINNERS
Sam Costelow
It's doubtful Scarlets would have won this game without their 22-year-old No.10, with the former Leicester Tigers man named man of the match after nailing a high-pressure match winning conversion from out wide to send the west Walians into the last four.
Costelow has a tremendous all-round game; he can kick, he can run, his passing game is on point, while he has tons of peripheral vision.
But what impresses the most is his game management. When things don't go his way he has the wherewithal and mental toughness to fix problems on the field.
He has already won two caps for Wales and it is only a matter of time before he makes the No. 10 jersey his own.
Dwayne Peel and the Scarlets
Peel was handed the difficult task of rebuilding the Scarlets after the failed Glenn Delaney era, while he has also had to deal with the uncertainty over playing budgets.
It was an extremely tough start to the former Wales number nine's tenure as Scarlets boss with many supporters questioning his appointment on social media, but they've been proven wrong.
Since Christmas the Scarlets have won nine out of their last 10 fixtures, and have a home Challenge Cup semi-final against Glasgow Warriors to look forward to later on this month.
Peel has shown his quality as a head coach in trying circumstances. Most importantly he has put an emphasis on culture, not giving a damn about reputation, making some tough calls on what players to release, and having the courage to put belief in the next generation of Scarlets.
Those who have been coached by Peel testify to his intelligence as an attack coach, while he has created an environment where every player gives everything for the shirt.
Christ Tshiunza and Dafydd Jenkins
There might not be any Welsh sides in the last four of the Heineken Champions Cup but there are a few players from this side of the bridge who will be involved.
Wales pair Tshiunza and Jenkins played a critical role in Exeter Chiefs' stunning 42-17 victory of United Rugby Championship champions the Stormers at Sandy Park.
Both players are only 20 and 21-years-old, respectively, but they physically dominated a gigantic Stormers pack who were full of world class Springboks.
Wales boss Warren Gatland will be pleased to see them getting exposed to such a high level of rugby. Next up for Tshiunza and Jenkins is a trip to Bordeaux to face La Rochelle in the semi-finals.
Wales Women
It may have been the fallow weekend of the Six Nations but Wales Women still deserve a place on this list.
Ioan Cunningham's side have made such a positive start to their Six Nations campaign with back-to-back wins over Ireland and Scotland, respectively.
The Welsh public have given them their seal of approval and they will face England this Saturday, April 15, in front of a sell-out crowd at the Arms Park, the 8,000 figure smashing their previous record of 4,962 set just a few weeks ago.
“To break that record for our second home game for England demonstrates how this team has caught the public’s imagination and inspired the nation," said Cunningham. “We know England will be a huge challenge for us, they have been the benchmark team and dominated this tournament for so long, and we are under no illusions of the task ahead of us.
“But knowing we have the backing of the Welsh supporters and that they appreciate how hard we have worked to be two from two shows we are heading in the right direction."
Mason Grady
Cardiff came up short against Benetton but Mason Grady was among the best players on the field.
The 20-year-old had a tough beginning during the Six Nations, making his Test debut against England as a starter while also facing Italy in Rome.
He remains a work in progress at international level but he has the potential to hit the heights and has been outstanding against Sale Sharks and Benetton in recent weeks.
Grady caused the Italian side issues with his power, pace and athleticism making dents in Benetton's defence. During the second-half he burst through the Benetton defence before racing 40 metres upfield to sneak in for a try at the corner.
A class act. Warren Gatland will have taken note.
LOSERS
Cardiff
Despite an impressive second-half comeback Cardiff bowed out of the Challenge Cup at the quarter-final stage to an impressive Benetton outfit.
A sensational victory over Sale Sharks propelled the Blue & Blacks into the last eight of the Challenge Cup but they couldn't quite overcome a resilient Benetton outfit.
Still, there was no shame in that, and they still have a place in the United Rugby Championship play-offs to play for.
Nick Tompkins
There is no doubting the quality of the 27 times capped Wales centre but things didn't go his way during Saracens' 24-10 Heineken Champions Cup defeat to La Rochelle yesterday.
The former champions got dumped out of the competition by a powerful La Rochelle side who dominated the collisions throughout.
Tompkins tried hard but he threw one pass straight into touch and was stripped of possession a couple of times.
He wasn't helped by the fact he was playing on the back-foot owing to his pack getting beaten by the home side. Tompkins will look to state his claim for a place in Gatland's World Cup squad by helping Saracens win the Gallagher Premiership, which they currently lead.
Tommy Reffell
Wales openside Reffell was part of the Leicester side who got dumped out of the Champions Cup by a rampant Leinster.
The Tigers got taken to the cleaners by the Irish province who look almost nailed on to lift the trophy at the Aviva Stadium next month.
To his credit Reffell was one of Leicester's better players, putting a big defensive shift in while he fought valiantly at the breakdown but Leinster's all-round class proved too much for the Tigers to cope with.
Like Tompkins his attention will now turn towards trying to win the Gallagher Premiership before inevitably linking up with the Wales squad for the pre-World Cup training camps in Switzerland and Turkey.
Wales' future European hopes
The Scarlets' victory over Clermont proves what can be achieved at regional level in Wales, while the Ospreys and Cardiff have also enjoyed success this season.
But they are unlikely to be able to build on it given the regional playing budgets are set to drop to £4.5million for the 2024/25 season.
As Scarlets general manager of rugby Jon Daniels told WalesOnline last week it is going to be very difficult to achieve success on such a meagre sum of money.
He went on to say everything must be done over the next year to prevent the playing budgets dropping so low.
Quite where the money is found is another question of course but you won't find many people disagreeing with him.
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